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CYPRUS.
4\
I
CYPRUS:
ITS ANCIENT CITIES, TOMBS,
AND TEMPLES.
DURING TEN YEARS' RESIDENCE AS AMERICAN CONSUL
IN THAT ISLAND.
BY
GENERAL LOUIS PALMA DI CESNOLA,
MEMB. ROVAL ACAD. SCIENCES, TURIN.
WITH MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
LONDON :
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1877.
[ TAf Riqht of Translation is reset^td, ]
■■ d.
LONDON :
BRADBl'RV, AGNKW, & CO., rRINTRRS, WHITEFRIAR!!.
tA
'^O.
2 0 r :c.
OF OXFORD
TO
MY WIFE,
AS A TRIBUTE TO HER LOVE AND DEVOTION UNDER GREAT TRIALS,
Ct^tUt 9asrtf
ARE MOST AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED.
PREFACE.
Many American and English friends have repeatedly
asked me to publish an account of my researches in the
island of Cyprus, and I have acceded to their request,
but not without grave fears in consequence of my
literary inexperience and imperfect knowledge of the
English language.
To some extent, also, the publication of this narra-
tive was imposed upon me as a duty, by the fact that
several distinguished scholars had expressed their fears
as to whether my excavations had been conducted in
a systematic manner, whether the ruins had been left
in a suitable condition for future study and investiga-
tion, and whether such a journal of the discoveries had
been kept as would, from its details of how and where
all the most important monuments had been found,
prove of interest to science.
From reasons of prudence I did not publish anything
concerning my diggings so long as I was residing in
the Turkish dominions, and I have had no occasion to
regret the course I pursued. That the explorations
I superintended in that island were carried out sys-
»
Vin PREFACE.
tematically, and all the most interesting facts concern-
ing them properly recorded, I hope the following pages
will prove. That they were perhaps not conducted in
all their details according to the usual manner adopted
and advocated by most archaeologists, I am unwilling
to dispute, but there were many serious considerations
which I was not at liberty to disregard. My firman
from the Ottoman Government made it imperative that
I should leave the excavated fields in the same state
in which I found them, no matter though they had
become my property by purchase. Even had this not
been the case, I should have hesitated before spend-
ing the time and money necessary in clearing out every
site where I dug in order to leave it in a condition
suitable for future study, knowing that the natives
would soon destroy those remains by carrying away the
stones for building purposes, as they have done with
the ruins laid bare at Dali by Mr. Lang, according to
the approved system.
Again, such a system of excavating would have been
too expensive for my private means, and I had neither
public funds at my disposal nor an organized staff of
assistants, as those usually have who superintend ex-
plorations of this character and extent. I had to rely
solely on my own personal and pecuniary resources,
and had to husband them as much as my health and
my means required. The result, however, would have
been the same in any case, since the ruins of ancient
edifices which I brought to light during my ten years'
PREFACE. IX
excavations, consisted, in almost every instance, only of
low foundations of stone walls, and these, when their
shape and exact measurement were ascertained, had no
further archaeological importance.
This disappearance of ancient monuments in Cyprus,
renders the identification of its cities and temples ex-
tremely difficult, and unfortunatelyj also, the records of
them which exist in ancient authors are so few and
unconnected that they mislead as often as they assist.
My greatest difficulty in this respect was with the cities
of Throni, Leucolla, and Aphrodisium.
To enable the general reader to follow with some
interest the description of my researches, I have given
as an introduction a short account of the island of
Cyprus from its pre-historic times, where everything
appears to be confusion and darkness, to the present
day.
Among the modern writers on Cyprus, I have con-
sulted Lusignan, Dapper, Mariti, Jauna, Pococke,
Danville, La Croix, and Maslatrie, but the one to
whom I am most indebted is Engel, who with that
ability and thoroughness in his researches which so
pre-eminently distinguish in our age the German
scholar, has collected in his work, ** Kypros," all the
best and most reliable information that could be had
about the island in classical times. My ignorance of
the German language deprived me of the great assist-
ance I might have derived from the perusal of this
excellent work while I resided in Cyprus.
X PREFACE.
To the courtesy and superior learning of Mr. A. S.
Murray, of the British Museum, I owe my acquaintance
with Engel, and also many valuable suggestions which
I here most gratefully acknowledge.
A catalogue of the engraved gems found in the
treasure vaults of the temple at Curium is given in
the Appendix, and for this I am indebted to the great
kindness of Mr. C. W. King, M.A. of Trinity College,
Cambridge, the well-known author of ** The Natural
History of Gems," "Antique Gems,*' and other works
of similar character. It will be found of eminent value
to the student of the glyptic art.
In the Appendix will also be found a short description
of the different types of vases found in Cyprus, and all
the inscriptions which I discovered or have seen at
various places during my excursions in the island.
These inscriptions are in Cypriote, Phcenician, and
Greek, with two or three in Assyrian incised on Baby-
lonian cylinders, and a bilingual one in Greek and
Latin, on a sepulchral stele. The description of the
vases has been prepared by Mr. A. S. Murray, to whom
I have already stated my obligations.
Although this volume is rich in illustrations, yet it
contains but a very small per centage of the Cypriote
monuments which I brought to light during my excava-
tions in Cyprus.
The description of the different localities and of the
tombs and temples which will be found in these pages,
has been taken from notes written by me on the spot
PREFACE. XI
at the time of the excavations, when I endeavoured to
note down what I actually saw and as it appeared to
me after a careful examination.
I entertain the hope that the discoveries which I had
the good fortune to make in Cyprus will prove more
important as they become more generally known, and
that they will justify the kindly expressed opinion of the
illustrious discoverer of Nineveh, in saying, ** they will
add a new and very important chapter to the history of
Aft and Archaeology."
L. P. DI CESNOLA.
Ilsington Villa, London,
Aprils 1877.
X
CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION i
CHAPTER I.
Appointed American Consul at Cyprus. — Arrival at Lanarca in 1865,— Descrip-
tion of the town.— Lamaca built on the ruins of Citium. — Its remains of
Phoenician, Assyrian, and Greek art. — Foundations of a Phoenician and a
Greek temple discovered. — Phoenician and Greek inscriptions found in them.
Diggini^ forbidden by the Turkish authorities. — Arrest of a Consular
employe. — His release, and the satisfaction obtained from the Porte . -41
CHAPTER II.
Country life. — Cypriote customs. — Description of Dali. — Former excavations of
French archaeologists. — Identification of site of Dali with that of Idalium. —
Accidental discovery of a tomb. — Survey of the fields. — An extensive necro-
polis beneath them. — Purchase and lease of ground. — Arrival of the Firman.
— Commencement of diggings. — Desciiption of tombs and their contents. —
Two tiers of tombs. — Charge of desecration of a Turkish cemetery. — Arrival
of the Pasha, and removal of the Cadi of Dali .61
CHAPTER III.
Several Consuls obtain Firmans to excavate. — Lively competition. — Mr. Lang
discovers statues and bilingual inscription. — Patriarchal custom among
Cypriote peasants. — Hadji Jorghi. — His imprisonment and sad death. —
Rock-cut tombs al Alambra, with their peculiar pottery. — Clay figures
believed by some to be children's toys. — Hills of Ambelliri. — Famous bronze
tablet of the Duke de Luynes. — Village of Potamia. — Discovery of temple
and tombs— -Several small cemeteries discovereil east of Dali . . . S2
XIV CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
ATHIENO (GOLGOI).
PACS
Athieno a town of muleteers. — Identified by M. de Vogu^ as the site of Golgoi. —
Sketch of Golgoi. — Cypriote mode of travelling. — Unsuccessful explorations
in 1867. — Di>covery of a necropolis east of Golgoi. — An important sarco-
phagus and other sepulchral monuments discovered there. — Two men sent to
dig in 1870. — Aghios Photios. — Discovery of colossal head and other
sculptures. — Excitement of villagers. — Scene of confusion at night . . 105
CHAPTER V.
Removal of sculptures toLamaca. — Purchase of ground and recovery of purloined
sculptures. — Systematic diggings commenced. — Discovery of more sculptures.
— Survey of another field. — Discovery of a temple. — Portions of its founda-
tions destroyed by French diggers. — Many hundred statues found in its area.
— The Governor-General wants to stop the diggings. — Official correspondence
with the Pasha. — Many inscriptions in Cypriote characters aud with bas-
reliefs. — Difficulty in removing the findings to Lamaca .... 125
CHAPTER VI.
The Cretan revolution.— Cypriotes holding Greek passports ordered to leave the
island within twenty days. — Protection of the Greek colony of C3rprus. — The
Greeks of Cyprus and the Hellenic Government thank General Cesnola. —
The Grand Vizier asks for his recall without success. — Bad faith and abuse of
power by the Turks. — Refusal to allow the exportation of the discoveries. —
The Turks circumvented and the collection shipped 165 i
CHAPTER VII.
PAPHOS.
Exploration of the S.E. coast of Cyprus. — Mode of travelling.— A modem
priest. — Ormidia. — An extensive necropolis. — No traces of dwelling-houses
or temples. — The sites of Throni and Leucolla identified by the author. —
Ruins of Catalima. — Mysterious monolithic cone. — Discovery of five ceme-
teries.— Famagosta probably the ancient Arsinoe. — Criminals. — Kattirdj
Janni, the Robin Hood of the Levant. —Salamis prison and tomb of St.
Catherine. — Church of St. Barnabas. — Two tumuli. --From Salamis to Cape
St. Andreas evidence of Phoenician occupation. — Cemeteries and ruins. —
Mediaeval castles . . . 177
(
CONTENTS. XV
CHAPTER VIII.
PAGE
Taphos founded by Phoenicians. — Temple of Venus mentioned by Homer. — Its
site near the shore. — Other Temple of Venus. — Paphos built on an eminence
further inland. — City and temple destroyed by earthquakes. — Temple rebuilt
by Vespasian. — Remains still visible. — Plan of the great temple. — Mosaic
pavement. — Rock -ait tombs. — Site of temple partly occupied by the small
village of Kouklia 204
CHAPTER IX.
AMATHUS.
No ruins of Arsinoe on site mentioned by Strabo. — Garden and bath of Venus. —
Neo- Paphos founded by Arcadians. — The Turks oppose diggings by force, —
St, Paul's column. — Rock-cut tombs. — Imprisonment of two notable Turks.
— Cape Acamas. — Ruins of ancient town of Soloi, its theatre. — Discovery of
temple with statues and inscriptions. — I^pethus. — Discovery of temple with
statues and inscriptions. — Cerynia now a fortress. — No remains of ancient
city. — Scene with the Turks. — Abbey of Lapa'is. — Cerynia to Aphrodisium.
— Ruins of four ancient towns near the seashore. — Harbour and temple of
Aphrodisium. — Mediaeval castles of Buffavento and Kantara. — The hermit
Simeon. — Cythrea. — Discovery of two temples. — Statues and inscriptions. —
Nicosia. — Tombs of the oldest period. — The lepers 217
CHAPTER X.
CURIUM.
Amathus founded by Phcenicians. — Worship of Tyrian Hercules. — Human sacri-
fices to Kronos. — Capture and destruction by Richard King of England.
Ruins, city walls, rock-cut tombs. — Mode of digging. — Stone-built tombs at
depth of forty-five feet. — Fatal accident to Dr. Siegismund. — Discovery of
large sculptured sarcophagus, its similarity to Lycian Frieze in British
Museum — Bronze shield with repousse WDrk. — Silver bowl with engraved
design. — Search for copper mines. — Fasula. — Discovery of temple, statues,
and inscriptions. — False alarm in camp at night. — Site of Tamassus. — Return
to Amathus. — Removal of sarcophagus. — Visit of the Governor of Limassol.
— Ruins of Aghios Tychona. — Departure for Curium 249
CHAPTER XI.
Curium founded by Argives.— Identification of site.— Traces of town in plain
below.— Theatre, several temples.— Hippodrome and aqueduct.— Cisterns or
granaries, public wells. —Exploration of one of the temples.— Mosaic pave-
™c'it.— Rock-cut vaults containing treasure. —Description of their contents.
i
xvi CONTENTS.
PACK
— Gold armlets with name of king of Paphos. — Tombs in neighbouring hills
and plain. — Discovery of Temple of Apollo Ilylntes. — Greek inscriptions. —
Statues from the neighbourhood. — Journey to Cape Gatto. — Discovery of
Kuri, its cemetery. — Wild cats and asps. — Ruins of Greek convent at
Acrotiri. — Return to I^rnaca. — End of explorations. — Departure from the
island 293
APPENDICES.
THE RINGS AND GEMS IN THE TREASURE OF CURIUM . 353
ON THE POTTERY OF CYPRUS 393
GREEK INSCRIPTIONS 413
INSCRIPTIONS IN THE CYPRIOTE CHARACTER . . . . 437
INSCRIPTIONS IN THE PHCENICIAN CHARACTER . . • . 441
INDFX .443
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PACH
Terra-cotta Vase .
40
View of Larnaca . . .
41
Sculptured Slab in Berlin .
47
Sepulchral Monument .
49
Terra-cotta Group . . ,
50
Terra-ccita Statuettes
51
Tombs at Larnaca , . .
53
Lid of Sarcophagus
S3
Alabaster Vases . . . .
54
Sepulchral Cippi .
54
Sarcophagus
54
Archaic Vase • . . .
55
Terra-cotta Mask . , ,
60
Vase from Dali
65
Tombs at Dali . . . ,
66
Inside of Tomb
67
Vase with Phcenician Inscrif
tion
68
Gold Ornaments (Dali) .
pL
i.
Vases from Dali
>>
11.
Glass Vases ....
If
iil
Double Tombs . • . .
»
75
Roman Lamps . . . .
k
76
Bronze Bowl, Engraved
1
77
Tail-piece . . . . .
1
81
Bronzes from Dali .
pi.
iv.
Copper Spear Heads and
Tools from A lam bra . .
>»
V.
Trrra-coita Figures
>»
▼i.
Vases from Alambra
• 11
• •
Vll.
Vase from Alambra
Tombs of Dali
Stone Head
Vases from Dali .
>»
>t
i»
f>
tt
9t
f» tt >f •
Statue of Aphrodite.
Sculptured Stei^^e .
Sarcophagus from Golgoi
Dog ....
Engraved Patera
Sculptured Stel^ ,
Scene at Golgos . •
Colossal Head .
Seated Figures .
Two Statues .
Do. Do. . •
Statue of Priest .
Do. Hercules .
Sculptured Base
Plan of Temple .
Terra-cotta Figure
Terra-cotta Heads .
Statue
Bas-relief of Serpent
Two Statues ,
Sculptured Vase
Bas-relief — Banquet
Statue ....
PAGB
95
96
98
pi. viii.
lOI
102
pi. ix.
106
no
pi. X.
"4
pi. xi.
117
12a
123
124
129
131
132
pi. xii.
136
139
140
141
143
M4
145
145
149
149
XVlll
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Two Terra-cottas .
Statue of Priest
Two Statues .
Diana— Two Heads
Two Statues .
Kneeling Warrior
Triple Geryon.
Venus .
Lamp ....
Votive Sculptures
Sculptured Plinths
Greek Statue
Statue
Modern Objects .
Boy with Goose
Modern Priest
Two Vases ....
Monolith ....
Terra-cotta Coffin .
Two Heads
Head of Cybele .
Terra-cotta Figures
Ruins of Temple of Paphos
Fret inscribed .
Terra-cotta Head
Fragment of Vase .
Plan of Temple at Paphos
Ruins of Temple .
Rhodian Amphora •
Tombs
Cybele ....
Statuette and Two Heads
Sam IAN Vase
Ivory Bas-relief
Statue
Simeon the Hermit
Terra-cottas
Terka-cotta Vases .
Serpentine Vase .
Head
pi.
PAGB
FACB
150
Hercules and Lion .
a •
250
151
Excavating Tombs
. .
255
152
Tombs at Amathus .
. »
256
153
Sarcophagus from Amathus^
154
pl. nU
'.-XT.
15s
Terra-cotta Boats
. .
259
156
Plan of Tomb .
. a
260
157
Door of Tomb
• .
260
157
Xanthus Frieze
pl. xvL-
-xvii.
158
Lid of Sarcophagus
. .
267
159
Archaic Vase
. a
268
160
Interior of Tomb .
. .
272
• ■ •
xni.
Sarcophagus
a .
272
164
Ai^baster Vases
a pl.
xviii.
176
TERRA-caiTA Vase and. Sta-
180
tuette
a a
275
181
Porcelain Figures
. .
276
189
Patera from Amathus
pl.
xix.
190
Boss of Shield from
Ama-
190
thus .
. p]
1. XX.
191
Interior of Tomb
a •
282
203
Statue of Veiled Female
285
205
Lid of Sarcophagus .
. .
288
207
View of Curium
a .
293
207
Earring . .
• a
297
210
Skeleton .
• •
298
212
Figure carrying water
a a
300
214
Mosaic
. a
301
216
Plan of Treasure-Chambers .
3<H
224
Gold Bracelet
• .
306
229
Agate Sceptre .
a a
309
230
Gold Finger-rings .
• a
310
230
Gold Earrings .
» •
310
233
Gold Bracelets
a .
3"
240
Gold Necklaces ,
a .
312
241
Miscellaneous Objects
pl.
xxi.
243
Gold Patera
. .
3«6
247
Gold Necklace
pL
xxii.
247
Do., DO.
f> ^
• • •
KXUU
248 1
Do., do. .
• »f '
KXiVa
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
XIX
PACE
Gold Necklace and Earrings
pl. XXV.
Crystal Vase . . 325
Gold Top of Vase . 326
Gold and Silver Rings and
Pendants . . pl. xxvi.
Gold Ornaments from Curium
pL xxvii
Patera from Curium . . 329
Terra-cotta Chariot . - - 331
Ornaments from Curium pl. xxviii
Terra-cotfa Vase from Curium
pL xxix
Two Vases 333
Bronze Tripod .
Bronze Candelabra
335
336
Patera with Deer and Papyrus 337
Bronze Objects
Terra-cotta Heads
Terra-cotta Figures
Bronze Statuette
Marble Statueti'e .
XXX.
344
344
345
346
PAGE
Three small Figures
• • •
347
Terra-cotta Vase
•
• •
347
Nemwis
• • •
392
Engraved Gems
•
pl. xxxi.-
-xlu
Archaic Vase
• • •
394
Archaic Vases .
•
pl.
xlii
Later Vasks .
• »»
xliii
Archaic Vase .
•
• .
401
Archaic Vases
. . .
402
; Vases . .
4^
405. 406,
408
1
1
410,
411
Bronze Caldron
•
• ■
412
I
Designs on Painted Vases
pl. xliv — xlvii
Inscribed Vase . . . . 440
Bas-reliefs with Cypriote
Inscriptions . . pl. xlviii
Bronze Vase . . . . 442
Inscriptions in Cypriote Cha-
racter .... 437
Inscriptions in Phoenician
Character . . 441
i
^
CYPRUS;
ITS ANCIENT CITIES, TOMBS, AND
TEMPLES.
INTRODUCTION.
Besides the natural advantages arising from its size,
fertility, and wealth, Cyprus derived from its position,
within a day's sail of the coast of Syria, great import-
ance in the remote ages when civilisation had only
begun to dawn in Greece, but had already advanced
to a high degree in Assyria and Egypt. In later times
this position between the East and the West gives its
history a chequered character of war and conquest.
But we must first go back to a period when Greece and
the Western nations were of no political importance,
and were only of value to the East for the sake of trade.
The great traders of this period were the Phoenicians,
and it is beyond doubt that in the course of this
early commerce the Greeks obtained several important
elements of their later civilisation ; their alphabet and
systems of weights and measures appear to have been
derived from this source, and in recent years it has
been argued with great show of reason that the Greeks
had also learned from the Phoenicians what has
been called the alphabet of art, that is a knowledge
of the technical processes of such industrial arts
B
2 CYPRUS.
as weaving, embroidery, pottery, metal-vvorking, and
wood-carving.*
To a people confined as the Phoenicians originally
were to a narrow strip of coast, skilled and largely
occupied with metal-working, as they are known to
have been in the time of Homer, Cyprus with its
unlimited wealth of copper must have presented an
attraction which its close proximity would enable them
to easily gratify. At what time they may have first
settled in the island it is impossible to ascertain from
the accumulation of legends which has gathered round
and obscured the original facts. This much has been
established, that Cyprus was the Chittimt of the Old
Testament, though no doubt this name was also
at times extended to the Western nations generally.
Josephus (i. 7) expressly identifies it with Cyprus, and
other writers followed him, while the existence of a
town of the name of Citium in the island, is itself a
strong corroboration of the statement. What authority
Eusebius may have had for saying that the town of
Paphos had been founded by Israelites expelled in
the time of the first Judge Athaniel we do not know,
but the assertion is in direct conflict with the other
traditions, and may perhaps be best dismissed. The
early Phoenician settlers appear to have retained
their connection with the mother country', and in the
time of Hiram, King of Tyre, a contemporary of David
and Solomon (circa b.c. 1000), we find them revolting
* See Brunn, ** Die Kunst bei Homer/' and A. S. Murray in the
Contemporary Hei'iciv^ Januar)', 1874.
t Chittim was a son of Javan, grandson of Japhet, and great grand-
son of Noah, and it has been conjectured that it was this Canaaniie
race of the Chittim who emigrated to Cyprus and gave the island their
name. The biblical Caphtor has also been identified as another name
of Cyprus. In early Egyptian documents it occurs as keft, kcfia, an J
kef a. See R. S. Poole, Trans. Roy. Soc. Lit. xi., pt. i, New Scries.
INTRODUCTION. 3
against the tribute levied by Tyre. The revolt was
reduced by Hiram, and it would appear from the
association of Chittim with the destruction of Tyre in
the prophecy of Isaiah, that Cyprus was still in his
time (the latter part of the eighth century b.c.) in
intimate relations with Tyre. There is reason to
believe that the Phoenician settlers had been joined by
emigrants from the kindred race of Cilicians and others
from Phrygia, but it is not thought that Egypt had ever
sent any colonists thither, though there is the state-
ment of Herodotus that the population consisted partly
of ^Ethiopians. We have thus on the one hand a
Semitic population from whom this island took the
name of Chittim, the town of Citium having been
apparently the first settlement. It is not likely that
they had any strong sense of political independence,
but probable rather that they lived quietly and indus-
triously for the sake of trade and commerce. On the
other hand we have a Greek population through whom
this island was known as Kypros^^ a name which it
has been proposed to derive from the Hebrew Kopher
{^tXiXi^L—Lawsonia alba)^ sl plant which grows in abun-
dance there, and in ancient times was made to produce
a variety of oils and salves. On this theory the deriva-
tion from the name of a plant would correspond with
the derivation of ** Rhodes '* from the rose.f
There will be occasion afterwards to speak of the
several colonies sent to Cyprus from the mainland of
Greece, but meantime we find, as usual with the Greeks,
a tendency of the Cyprian legends to connect the
history of the island with the fortunes of the Greeks in
* Stephanos ; Kwrpos . . . ^ dmi rov <t)vofJL(vov av9oV£ Kvrrpov^ Enge\ p. 1 4.
f The other more or less poetic names of Cyprus were : Aeria, Aerosa,
Akamantis, Amathusa, Aphrodisia, Aspelia, Collinia, Kerastes, Kryptos,
Meinis, Ophiusa, Makaria, Paphos, Sphekeia, and Tharsis. For the
various explanations of these names, see Engel, " Kypros," i., pp. 11-24-
11 2
4 CYPRUS.
the Trojan war. The legendary hero of Cyprus was
Cinyras, to whom was traced the invention of the
hammer, anvil, tongs, and other tools used in metal-
working, and it was he who ruled the island when the
Trojan expedition started. Like the other Greek
princes he was requested to take part in the war, and
we have in Homer (Iliad, xi. 19) a description of the
armour which he presented to Agamemnon :
** Atrides summoned all to arms ; to arms himself disposed :
First on his legs he put bright greaves with silver buttons closed ;
Then with rich cuirass armed his breast which Cinyras bestowed
To gratify his royal guest, for even to Cyprus flowed
The unbounded fame of those designs the Greeks proposed for Troy,
And therefore gave to him those arms and wished his purpose joy.
Ten rows of azure mixed with black ; twelve golden like the sun,
Twice ten in tin in beaten paths did through the armour run ;
Three serpents to the gorget crept that like three rainbows shined,
Such as by Jove are fixed in clouds when wonders are divined."
{C/iapman^s Trans/at ion.)
It was said, however, that Agamemnon's armour
turned out to be worthless, but this was told rather to
reflect on the character of Palamedes, who had been
sent to solicit the aid of Cinyras, and had kept for
himself the really valuable presents entrusted to him
for Agamemnon by the Cyprian king, substituting the
worthless armour, and saying that Cinyras would send
one hundred ships, none of which ever appeared ; other
stories set Cinyras himself in an unfavourable light.
The Greeks on their way to Troy had stopped at
Cyprus, and been very hospitably received by him; he
undertook to supply them with provisions during the
war, but did not fulfil his promise, and for this incurred
the deep anger of Agamemnon.
According to another story, Cinyras had promised
Menelaus to send fifty ships to Troy, but when the
time came sent only one, making up the number
with small ships made of clay, with crews of clay
INTRODUCTION. 5
figures.* Owing to this treachery Agamemnon, on his
return from Troy, landed at Cyprus, expelled Cinyras,
and settled part of his Greek followers at Amathus.
It is not unreasonable to suppose that stories of this
kind, which present the Cypriotes as connected with the
Greeks but yet faithless towards them, indicate the true
position of affairs previous to the time when the Greeks
became the more powerful part of the population.
The shape of this island was not inappropriately
compared by the ancients to that of a deer's skin or a
fleece spread out. Eastward it extends in a long pro-
montory^ ending in Cape Dinaretum (now St. Andreas)
before which are several small islands known as the
** Kleides '' or ** Keys.'* On the north coast projects
Cape Crommyon (Kormakiti) ; on the west Cape Acamas
(St. Epiphanio) ; and on the south Cape Curias (Cape
Gatto). Between these main extremities are numerous
points or promontories connected by an abundance of
bays favourable to shipping.
The principal mountain ranges are in the west and
south-west, the highest point being that of Mount
Olympus (Trodos or Troodos), 6590 feet, nearly mid-
way between the towns of Curium in the south, and
Soli in the north. From Mount Olympus a view of the
whole island can be obtained. Whether it was on this
mountain, or on a promontory of the same name, which
is said to have been on the north-east side of the island,
that the Temple of Venus Acraea stood is not certain.
To that temple no women were admitted. Next in
height to Mount Olympus is Mount Adelphi (Maschera),
5380 feet, and still in the same range, but farther east-
ward, is a hill rising to 4730 feet, the ancient name of
which is not determined. In a western prolongation
of this chain we have Mount Sta. Croce, 2300 feet, on
• See clay boats engraved, p. 259.
6 CYPRUS.
which in ancient times was a Temple to Jupiter. This
temple was in ruins when the Empress Helen, mother
of Constantine, visited Cyprus ; and a tradition, from
which the hill derives its present name, asserts that
Saint Helen caused a chapel to be erected on the spot,
and deposited in it a piece of the cross which she had
brought from Jerusalem. An English traveller, John
Locke, says that he saw the relic in Cyprus in 1553.
There is a ruined Greek convent now on the top of the
hill, and on the eastern slope is another convent dedicated
to Sta. Barbara. The northern coast is mountainous
along its whole extent, from Cape Crommyon to Cape
Dinaretum, but the highest points do not exceed 3340
feet. Mount Buffavento is 3240 feet. Mount Pentedak-
tylon 2480 feet, and Mount Elias 2810 feet. It is not
known from which mountain it was that the volcanic
eruption took place in the time of Titus, doing very great
damage to the neighbourhood. The island generally
seems to have been subject to earthquakes ; Paphos
being the particular victim, and next to it Amathus.
From the mountains rose numerous streams, but only
two or three rivers of any consequence. The Pedios,
or Pedaios, which enters the sea between Salamis and
Famagosta, was, and still is, the most important of these.
Its course is eastward, through Nicosia and part of the
large fertile plain of Mesaoria, which lies behind the
mountain ranges on the north and south sides of the
island ; it is called now the Pedia. In 1330 it was swollen
by heavy rains and inundated Nicosia, to the destruction
of much life and property. For some weeks the plain of
Mesaoria was like a lake. The Clarius near Soli, and the
Bocarus at Paphos are now dry most of the year, while
the Tetius is only a winter torrent. The Lapethus runs
all the year, and the Lycus is a respectable stream.
Originally, it is said, the whole island was covered
with wood, which first began to be cleared and used for
INTRODUCTION. 7
the purpose of mining, and afterwards on a large scale
for ship building. For the latter the pines, which in
historical times grew abundantly, were employed, and
in some cases also the cedar, which is said to have
surpassed in Cyprus even its dimensions on the Lebanon
hills. In the neighbourhood of Paphos and Amathus
were grown large quantities of grain, while the island
generally is spoken of by ancient writers as possessing in
great abundance the largest variety of natural products.
The plant Cyprus (Henna — Lawsonia alba)^ from which
the island is said to have derived its name, has already
been mentioned, and in the preparation of dyes and
salves from this and other plants arose a considerable
industrj^ in ancient times. The cultivation of hemp
and flax was another profitable occupation. But the
chief source of wealth was in the copper mines, which
yielded not only a finer quality of copper, but also a
greater supply of it than any other mines known to the
ancients. It was from its prevalence and general use that
its proper name of XcxXko? Kv7r/>tos = Aes Cypriurh, came
to be shortened into Cyprum, and anglicised into copper.
The principal mines were at Tamassus, Amathus, Soli,
Curium, and near the promontory of Crommyon. The
supply of iron was considerable, while silver and gold
were also found, but apparently not in large quantities.
There is no doubt that under the original Greek
settlers, and for centuries after them, while the unlimited
natural resources of the island were being developed,
Cyprus had maintained a high character among the
Greek islands. But in time the easily acquired products
of nature, the wealth arising from trade, the enervating
climate,''^ and not least, perhaps, the intercourse with
the East rendered the people of Cyprus proverbial as the
* Of the climate, Martial (ix. 92) says, Infamem nimio calore
Cypnim. Louis IX. spent a winter in Cyprus while on his crusade
1248-9, and lost twenty six of his noblest knights.
8 CYPRUS.
happiest beings on earth as far as luxury and pleasure
could make them ^o, and the natural consequence of
this was that there was no excess or refinement of
indulgence which they did not practise. In this the
worship of Aphrodite played an important part. To a
great extent it decided the character of public and
private morality throughout the island, and that the
result was highly disgraceful may be seen from numerous
passages in the ancient writers.* Every one knows the
description which Herodotus gives (i. 199) of the custom
of Babylonian women at the Temple of Mylitta, the
Assyrian counterpart of Aphrodite, and he adds that the
same thing prevailed in Cyprus. Later writers entirely
confirm what he says, and the pictures which they draw
of the grand festivals to the goddess at Paphos leave
little for the imagination of man to invent, one would
think, in the way of gross indulgence. It may be some
defence to say that the prescripts of religion required
much of this, but there seems to have been little or
nothing to counteract it. There are, for instance, only
slight traces of there having existed such means for the
athletic training of the youth as are found elsewhere
among the Greeks. The mass of the people were
apparently also stupid, the nickname of ^ovs Kv7r/>tos
being an expression similar to ^otcorta 5s, and in Greece
generally they were spoken of with contempt. Much of
the blame was due to the kings, who affected the luxuri-
ousness and ceremony of Oriental princes. An example
of how the King of Neo-Paphos lived is preserved in
Athenaeus (vi. 257), in a fragment of a comedy by Anti-
phanes. During dinner this monarch was kept cool by
doves hovering around him. To allure them he was
salved with Tyrian oil, made from a fruit which they
liked, and recognised the odour of. But as they ap-
* See Terence, Adelphi, ii. 2 ; Athenaeus, xiii. 586-594, iii. 100 ;
Plautus, Poenulus, 1251, fol.
INTRODUCTION. g
preached to settle on his head, attendants warded them
carefully off, and the constant flutter of their wings
produced the necessary effect of cooling.
As regards the monarchical institutions of Cyprus, it
is known that both Aristotle and Theophrastus wrote on
that subject, but their special writings have been lost,
and only a very few facts remain. Besides the kings
who ruled the several towns, much as the Persian
satraps ruled the provinces of Asia Minor, there was an
aristocracy which is only known for its services to the
kings. From the aristocracy was chosen the Kolakes,
a sort of secret police, whose business it was to make
enquiries about all persons who might be dangerous to
the state. They were divided into two classes, called
Gergini and Promalanges. The duty of the former
was to mix with the people in their places of public
resort, and even in their private houses, and to report
daily what they found out against anyone to the
Anaktes or Supreme Court, consisting of the immediate
relatives of the king. When further investigation
appeared to be necessary, the Promalanges were then
required to undertake it. By means of disguise and
other precautions they were unknown to the people.
On the other hand there were the public councils of a
Boule and Gerusta^ as in Ephesus, and apparently the
example of Athens was to some extent followed in the
arrangement of public affairs. Solon passed the latter
part of his life in Cyprus, and died •there, but it does
not appear that he had exercised much influence in
improving the laws and public institutions.* The
* It may have been from his influence that the law came into
existence which prescribed the punishment of death to any one who
killed an ox used for ploughing, since at Athens the slaughter of yoke
oxen was also severely punished ; again, the law which required a
person who committed suicide to be left unburied, resembles a law
existing in Athens.
lO CYPRUS.
kings traced their lineal descent to the original founders
of the several towns where they ruled, and in some
respects they may have maintained the traditions of
the princes of the heroic age.
Of extraordinary importance was also the hierarchy
of Cyprus, in particular the priestly family of the
Cinyradae at old Paphos, whose ancestors had intro-
duced the worship of Aphrodite from Phoenicia, as
tradition went. Paphos, like Delphi in Greece, was the
centre of the earth, and the Cinyradae were at the head
of it, both in political and religious matters. The
oldest of them for the time being was the chief, with
whom the others of the family were associated as a
council of priests. His power in regard to religious
affairs extended over the island. At Amathus also the
priestly family were of the race of the Cinyradae, but
their power was not so considerable. An entirely new
constitution was given to the island when Ptolemy the
First conquered it and expelled the race of kings.
Copper-mining and the production of swords, armour,
and other articles in bronze, formed the staple trade of
Cyprus from the heroic ages down to the times of the
Romans. That the quality of the armour was highly
prized in Homer's time may be gathered from his
description of the present made by Cinyras to Aga-
memnon, already quoted, and it retained its reputation.
Alexander the Great had a Cyprus sword given him by
the King of Citium, and praised for its lightness and
good quality, while Demetrius Poliorcetes, when besieg-
ing Rhodes, received two suits of armour from Cyprus,
which according to tradition the maker tested by
exposing them at twenty paces to darts shot from an
engine for this purpose. The metal stood this test so
successfully that Demetrius took one of the suits for his
own wear. The copper of Cyprus was in demand in
most places of the ancient world. Next to the working
INTRODUCTION. II
of it stood ship-building (Ezekiel, xxvii. 7). The ships
are said to have been very large, and it is related of
Demetrius Poliorcetes that he had one built in Cyprus
of cedar-wood, 130 feet long. As regards the fine
arts it does not appear, to judge from literary records
as they now exist, that Cyprus had ever held an
important place. The name of only one sculptor
has been handed down — Styppax, a contemporar}^ of
Pericles, and the author of a celebrated sculpture
called the Splanchnoptes, representing a slave roast-
ing the entrails of an animal, and blowing up the
fire with his mouth (Pliny, Nat. Hist., xxxiv. 81,
xxii. 44; Overbeck, Geschichte, i. p. 331, 2nd ed.).
From an inscription in Rhodes (Hirschfeld, Tituli
Statuariorum, No. 67 ; Overbeck, Antike Schrift-
quellen. No. 2020) and from another inscription in
Therae (Hirschfeld, No. 67 a; Overbeck, No. 20ig),
we know Simos as the sculptor of two statues. He
was a native of the town of Salamis. The name of
another sculptor, Onasiphon, also a native of Salamis,
occurs in an inscription from Rhodes (Hirschfeld,
No. 68), while that of Epicharmos of Soli is found on
two pedestals, the statues of which have disappeared,
in Rhodes (Hirschfeld, No. 71 a), and in Lindus
(Hirschfeld, No. 71).
On a marble tablet at Neo-Paphos (Hirschfeld,
No. 178) is an inscription describing a piece of sculp-
ture by one Zenodotos, who claims to have worked in
the Phidian manner, or perhaps had only copied the
motive from works by Phidias.* But it seems that
* Of the great number of specimens of ancient art found in recent
years, some have been published, as follows : ist Photographs from
the Cesnola Collection, with introduction by Professor Sidney Colvin,
London ; 2nd. Catalogue of Cesnola Collection, by Johannes Doell,
St Petersburg ; 3rd. Objects discovered by R. H. Lang, British Consul
\
12 CYI'RUS.
embroidery had been carried to something like the
degree of a fine art in Cyprus, since we find that at
Delphi there was a specimen of this class of work to
which was attached an epigram showing that it had
been executed by Helicon, a son of Acesas, a native of
Salamis, whom Pallas had inspired in this art.
It seems that Acesas also was distinguished for his
skill in this kind of work (Overbeck, Ant. Schrift., No.
385-387). There is little doubt but that this skill of
the Cypriotes had been arrived at under the influence
of the Assyrians, who appear to have maintained their
reputation in this department of work down to the time
of Antiochus, who is mentioned by Pausanias * as
having presented the temple of Olympia with a curtain
of Assyrian work. As regards the legendary art of the
island, the armour of Cinyras, his vessels of clay with
clay crews, and the image made by Pygmalion, there
was apparently at least this foundation for these stories,
that Cyprus had been from very early times actively
engaged in metal working, in producing figures in clay
or terra-cotta, and in sculpture.
With about thirty seaports, having convenient har-
bours, and with unlimited supplies of wood for ship
building, Cyprus was in a position to appropriate a great
part of the commerce between the East and the West,
in addition to the exportation of its own over-abundant
produce, such as silicate of copper, vitriol, wood, wine,
grain, oil, wool, flax, canvas, woven stuffs, salves, fruits,
at Cyprus, with discussion of their artistic style, by R. S. Poole, Transac-
tions of Royal Society of Literature, xi., pt. i, New Series.
* Pausanias (v. 12, 4) calls it a napcmiraatxa €p€iov of Assyrian work,
and dyed with the purple dye of the Phoenicians. This curtain, he
adds, was let down from the roof to the pavement by ropes, not as in
the Temple at Ephesus, raised from the floor upwards.^ In another
place (viii. 5, a) Pausanias mentions a robe (peplos) presented to the
statue of Athena Alea, at Tegea, by Laodike, a descendant of Agapenor,
the original founder of Paphos, where she still lived.
INTRODUCTION. I3
precious stones, &c. Of the seaports Citium always
held pre-eminence.
In literature, the reputation of the island stood higher
than in art. It boasted of the earliest of the Greek
prophetic singers, Euclos, some of whose verses were
known as late as the time of Pausanias. It was the
native place of the author of one of the celebrated epic
poems of antiquity, the Cyprian Iliad, as it was called,
or simply and generally the Kypria. That Homer was
born in Cyprus, that he was the author of the ** Kypria,"
or that he gave his daughter in marriage to the Cyprian
poet Stasinos, are doubtless idle inventions. The two
real claimants to the authorship of the poem in question
are Stasinos and Hegesias, but the claims of the former
seem to be the stronger of the two, and probably it was
from his being the' acknowledged author that he was
brought into relationship with Homer. As to the poetic
merits of the Kypria, it is to be observed that Herodotus
(ii. 117) does not allege inferiority as his reason for
thinking that it was not the work of Homer, but relies
on a discrepancy of incident. Aristotle censures it in
comparison with Homer for its too great variety of
incident. There must have been an important school
of Homeric poets in the island about the latter half of
the eighth century B.C., to which period this poem is
assigned. The Kypria consisted of eleven books, of
which we possess now only what is called the argument
as preserved by Proclus in Photius, but from this it is
possible to gather the main incidents of the poem. The
subject of the Iliad is the war of Troy, and the subject
of the Kypria is the events which caused and preceded
the war of Troy. It is therefore a sort of introduction to
the Iliad. At the same time it must not be supposed that
these earlier legendary incidents had been invented by the
poet. What he did was to collect a great number of local
legends which are not in the Iliad, and to preserve them.
14 CYPRUS.
To this we now owe much of our knowledge of the
legends of the Trojan cycle, and it is certain that the
great variety of scenes and events in this poem formed a
mine of subjects for the tragic poets and artists of Greece.
Besides Stasinos, the probable author of the Kypria
and his rival claimant Hegesias, we find Cleon of
Curium mentioned as the author of a poem on the
Argonauts, to which it is said Apollonius Rhodius had
been largely indebted in writing his poem of the Argo-
nauts, which now exists. Judging from the reputation
of the island for its poetry in the time of Pindar, one
would conclude that there must have been many other
poets in Cyprus whose names and works have been
lost. There is the lyric poet Hermeias of Curium, of
whose verse Athenaeus has preserved a specimen.
Several fragments of the comedies of Sopatios are also
to be found in Athenaeus. Among the prose writers, of
whom there is a considerable number known by name,
Clearchos of Soli, a pupil of Aristotle, is the principal
figure. His work, entitled Gergithios, was an exposure
of the system of sycophants at the Cypriote courts.
He was the author also of a book of biographies.
There was, however, no more illustrious native of
Cyprus than Zeno the philosopher (born b.c. 362), the
founder of the Stoic school ; Citium was his birthplace,
and it was as proud of him as he was attached to it.
The language employed in literary compositions, and
indeed the prevailing language of the island in historical
times, was Greek. The Phoenician inhabitants, probably
those of Citium and Idalium in particular, had retained
their native tongue, and though neither their position
in relation to the Greeks, nor the capacity of their
language, was calculated to exercise much influence on
the current Greek, yet it is noticeable that in the con-
siderably large series of words handed down as peculiar
to Cyprus a number of them are obviously of Semitic
INTRODUCTION. I5
origin (Engel, i. pp. 557-593). The mixture of
colonists from different parts of Greece bringing dif-
ferent dialects may have produced the others. That
the ordinary Greek alphabet was employed for literary
purposes is to be inferred from the familiarity of Greek
authors with Cypriote literature, and from their silence
as to any peculiarity on this point. It was, therefore, a
matter of surprise and deep interest to scholars when
inscriptions came to be found written in a hitherto
unknown character. The first who rendered important
service as regards these inscriptions, was the Due de
Luynes, by his publication of '* Numismatique et
Inscriptions Cypriotes,'' Paris, 1852, containing all the
inscriptions then known, and among them a now cele-
brated bronze tablet, with an inscription of thirty-one
lines, found at Idalium. In 1855, Professor Roth
published a translation of this tablet, making it out to
be a proclamation of the Egyptian king Amasis to the
people of Cyprus, and assuming the language to be
Semitic. But this and all attempts at decipherment
failed until a bilingual inscription, in Phoenician and
Cypriote, discovered by my English colleague, R. H.
Lang, was made known. Mr. Lang had himself made
some progress with the correct reading of this docu-
ment, when the late Mr. George Smith, of the British
Museum, quite independently discovered the same clue,
and succeeded in determining the value of forty of the
characters or signs of the Cypriote alphabet, or sylla-
barium, as it is more properly called. At this stage Dr.
Birch, the Keeper of Oriental Antiquities in the British
Museum, perceiving the language written in this strange
character to be essentially Greek, applied the newly
found key to the bronze tablet of the Due de Luynes,
and published his reading of it in the Transactions of
the Society of Biblical Archaeology (vol. i., pt. 2, 1873).
The whole subject was next taken up by Dr. Brandis of
l6 CYPRUS.
Berlin, and investigated with his characteristic patience
and thoroughness up to the time of his too early death.
His result was published in the Monatsbericht of the
Berlin Academy, 1873 ; and to that publication we
would refer those who desire a secure foundation for
the study of the Cypriote language.* The following
table, which represents the alphabet as far as it was
made out by him, is taken from the article just
mentioned.
L GuttiiralB.
i
fir
1.
2.
3.
4.
±Jca
i hi
A ko
6. 3\ ga
7. IT ^(0
8. /\ 5fo
6.
Set
11. Dentals
t
d
fA
9. h ta
h da
— Ma
10. T /(i)
11. T to
12. ^ di (?)
T do
13.
14.
± de, tk§, t9
^ Mo
■ ^ or f
n
I
r
«
15. U na
20. ^ la 25
•• X ra
— frt
16. A, e^ fit
21. 6 H
— ri
26. <D SI
,
22. 8 U
17. V» no
23. JL Z(o)
A ro
— so
18. "X an (on}
19. ^, ?! en
24. + -I
fi..r
27. K t
I9a. X -n?
28. r -f
29. g to
* I would add also the valuable contribution to this subject by Prof.
Isaac H. Hall, of New York, "The Cypriote Inscriptions of the Di Cesuola
Collection," from the Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. x.,
1875, in which fac-similes of the inscriptions are given.
30. T pa
31. ¥ pi
32. T po
"WOTCL
INTRODUCTION.
III. Labialfl
h
m
33. # la
33. SL ma
— W
34. ^ mi
— &o
JL my
35. A M?
IV. VowelB
i
«
^^\. 39. -* /
42. I ^
I?
37. » er Middle 40. At End 43. >ie *, ,,
38. ii: 11 ^ 41. A J
0
« ou (?)
44. a 0, 47. T t> 49. (* ou
45. i/ 0 48. /t; Mostly At end
46. ^ o of ivord and
Alternating viih 14^ 47.
Mr. R. H, Lang believes (Transactions Roy. Soc.
Lit., xi. pt. I, New Series, p. 23) that this language and
writing had been handed down from the original in-
habitants of the island, previous to the advent of the
Phoenicians. As regards the race to which these
aborigines belonged, he says, ** in Genesis we read
(ch. X. ver. 4), * and the sons of Javan ; Elishah, and
Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim : ' (ver. 5) * By -these
were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands.'
In other words we are told that the inhabitants of
Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, Dodanim or Rodanim, were
of the Javanian (or as we have it later, Ionian) family.
It will be admitted that the Kittim alluded to by the
author of Genesis was Cyprus, and if so, then we have
the testimony of the most ancient and theological record
extant that the original inhabitants of the island were
l8 CYPRUS.
descendants of Javan and part of the great Greek
family, with which, even in our days, the Cypriotes are
closely allied. One circumstance which has been
generally overlooked adds considerable weight to the
testimony of the writer of Genesis, if we suppose him to
have been Moses, who was brought up at the court of
Pharaoh. In the time of Moses the island was actually
a possession of Egypt, having been conquered by the
Egyptian fleet under Thothmes III. This testimony,
then, with regard to the inhabitants of Cyprus, was
probably based on authentic information possessed by
the court of Pharaoh. Whence this population came
to the island we cannot conjecture."
** When treating lately of the Cypriote alphabet in a
paper read to the Biblical Society of Archaeology, I
had occasion to show its similarity to the alphabet
of Lycia, and this circumstance leads me to suggest
that an oflF-shoot of the great Aryan emigration
which peopled Lycia, may have crossed the Cilician
sea, only about fifty miles broad, and penetrated into
Cyprus."
Besides the extreme probability of settlers from
Cilicia coming to Cyprus as pointed out by Mr. Lang,
there is the fact stated by Tacitus (Hist. 2, 3) that at
the time when the Cinyradae came from Phoenicia
another priestly family, the Tamiradae, arrived from
Cilicia and exercised their prophetic powers in the
island. This was pointed out by Engel in 1841, but
he, being convinced that the early Cilicians were of the
same Semitic stock as the Phoenicians, concluded
(i. p. 178) that this settlement of Cilicians had not
altered the ethnological character of the island. The
similarity between the Cypriote and Lycian alphabets
would be a more important fact than it is were the
Lycian language deciphered satisfactorily ; there are
certain similarities also in the sculptures of Cyprus and
INTRODUCTION. ig
Lycia which will be pointed out, but at present they seem
rather traceable to an oriental than to a Greek origin.
While the two languages of Cyprus — Greek and
Phoenician — remained distinct, it would seem that the
religion of the two separate races had become success-
fully amalgamated. The goddess of Paphos, whose
temple there had been founded, according to tradition,
in imitation of a temple of the Tyrian goddess Astarte
at Ascalon, and had a perpetual priesthood, tracing
their lineage to the Tyrian founder Cinyras, was
accepted by the Greeks throughout the island as
Aphrodite. She was in the first place the Goddess of
Love, and considering that however much language or
nationality may vary, this passion at least is veiy
constant in mankind, it cannot be surprising that the
two races of Cyprus worshipped one goddess in
common. Her symbol was a cone, such as stood in
the adytum of the temple at Paphos^ and whatever its
signification may ultimately have been, the likelihood
is that it originated in reference to the functions of the
Pelasgic Aphrodite as a goddess of fertility. The two
originally distinct elements in the religion of the
Paphian goddess are indicated by her two titles of
Pandemos and Urania, with her separate genealog}^
for each. As Pandemos she was a daughter of Zeus
and Dione, and represented originally a pure Greek
conception of a goddess of Nature, and it is in this
genealogy that she is known to Homer. As Uranij
she was the offspring of Uranos, born in the foam of
the sea (Aphrodite), and coming finally to land in
Cyprus. As a goddess of the Heavens (Uranos) she
reminds us that the principal deities of the Asiatic
race to which the Phoenicians belonged, were the Sun
and Moon — Baal and Mylitta in Babylon. And
again, as a goddess born of the sea she reminds us that
the goddess Derceto was represented at Ascalon in the
c 2
20 CYPRUS.
form of a fish. It was apparently under the influence
of the Asiatic side of her religion that the prostitution
of women in her service became as great at Paphos as
it was at Babylon in the service of Mylitta.
The love of Aphrodite for beautiful youths is known
from the stories of Adonis, Phaethon, and Cinyras,
while on the other hand the love of mortals for her or
her image is shown in the story of Pygmalion, who
made for himself an ivory figure of the goddess, and
poured out his yearnings towards it. On one of her
festival days he approached her altar and implored that
the figure might be endowed with life. The goddess
heard his prayer, the image warmed into life, and bore
to Pygmalion the beautiful boy ** Paphos." Stories
less elevated in character than this are told of love
for the statue of Aphrodite at Cnidos. But her chief
favourite in Cyprus was Cinyras, whose praise was sung
and related far and wide. In beauty of an effeminate
sort he was compared with Sardanapalus. His wealth,
like that of Midas, was proverbial, but with the differ-
ence that he knew how to use it. It was he who had
introduced the worship of Aphrodite into Paphos, and
settled a hereditary right to her priesthood in his
family. Early institutions and inventions, from which
the island had benefited, were traced to him, and we
have already seen that in the Iliad he appears as a
Greek prince, and a wealthy contemporary of Aga-
memnon. The genealogy of Cinyras is in inextricable
confusion. In one place he is a son of Apollo and
Pharmake ; in another a son of Paphos, the off-
spring of Pygmalion and the ivory image ; in a third
his father was Theias, who at one time appears as an
early king of the island, and at another as King of
Assyria, having as children, besides Cinyras, Myrrha
and Adonis, who usually are called the children of
Cinyras. In the other legends his descent is traced
INTRODUCTION. 21
to Cecrops. Again, his wife is given sometimes as
Metharme, a daughter of Pygmalion, and at other
times Cenchreis.
With reference to the colonisation of the island, it
will be seen that the Phcenicians had settled on the
south coast at the nearest and most convenient points
for trade with the mother country, and had founded
the three towns of Paphos, Amathus, and Citium, of
which Paphos, with its greater celebrity in historical
times, claimed to be the oldest ; but probably this
claim would be better allowed to Amathus, which
traced its foundation to Amath, a grandson of Canaan,
and retained such Phoenician peculiarities as the
worship of Melkart, the Tyrian Hercules, and human
sacrifice to Kronos, of which there is no evidence in
Paphos. It was from Amathus, and not Paphos, that
Agamemnon drove the Cinyradae, and their seat must
have been the chief and probably the first settlement
in the island. Citium was always merely a commercial
city, as it is to this day, under the name of Larnaca.
Whether Lapethus and Carpassia in the north were
Phoenician towns is doubtful, though, from the remains
discovered at those places, the former would appear
Greek, while the latter is unmistakably Phoenician, in
my opinion.
The Greek colonization, according to legend, began
with the return of the heroes from Troy. i. Salamis
was founded by Teucer, and named after his native
island, where, on his return, his father Telamon would
not receive him, and whence he fled with his com-
panions to Cyprus, taking with him also his Trojan
captives. According to Virgil, he landed first at
Sidon, and obtained permission and assistance to settle
in Cyprus from Belus, a King of Sidon. Possibly the
Salaminians had gone to Cyprus along with the Athe-
nian colony under Acamas, though it is given as a
22 CYPRUS.
separate event. 2. The .towns of Soli and Cjthrea
traced their foundation to the Athenians. The towns
of Lapethus and Cerynia (3 and 4) were said to have
been founded by a Lacedemonian colony under Prax-
ander, and an Achaean colony under Kepheus. 5. Curium
was founded by Argives, but under whose leadership is
not said. 6. A colony of Dryopians is mentioned as
having planted a town named Asine, the site of which,
however, is not known. 7. Agapenor, returning from
Troy with his Arcadian followers, was wrecked on
Cyprus, and founded Neo-Paphos. 8. Golgos or Golgoi
was founded by a colony of Sicyonians, under a leader,
Golgos, whom the myth calls a son of Aphrodite and
Adonis.
It will be seen that, with the exception of the Argive
colony of Curium, which lies between Paphos and
Amathus, the Greek settlers chose the north and west
coasts of the island ; and of the west kingdoms of
Cyprus, only two were distinctly Phoenician. At what
time and under what circumstances these two towns
had adopted the monarchical form of government of
their Greek neighbours, is not known ; but it could
hardly have been until after their release from their
vassalage to Tyre. The ten kingdoms were Salamis,
Soli, Chytri, Curium, Lapethus, Cerynia, Neo-Paphos,
Marium, with Citium and Amathus as Phcenician.
In the Iliad we have mention of Cinyras as appa-
rently then the only king of the island ; but altogether
Cyprus does not seem to have been well known to the
author of the Iliad, and was probably not a place of
remarkable importance in his day. In the Odyssey,
however, more is known of it. There is the visit of
Menelaos (iv. 83-4), its supply of copper, for which
Athene goes to Tamassus (i. 181), while Odysseus him-
self (xvii. 442) gives his experience of the friendliness of
Dmetor, a King of Cyprus.
INTRODUCTION. 23
On an Egyptian tomb it is stated that Thothmes III.
conquered Cyprus ; it appears elsewhere that Belus,
King of Tyre, took the island at a later period and
destroyed most of its cities ; in b.c. 707, Sargon, the
Assyrian monarch, conquered Cyprus, and made its
kings his tributaries ; B.C. 594, Apries, King of Egypt,
(the Pharaoh Hophra of Scripture), defeated several
Cypriote monarchs near Citium, and returned home
laden with spoils. Amasis, who put Apries to death,
overran the entire island, and imposed, as Herodotus
says, a tribute on it. The same historian tells us that
during the reign of Psammeticus the Cypriote rulers,
tired of Egyptian control, surrendered themselves to
Cambyses the Persian, and joined him in the war
against the son of Amasis. When Darius became
King of Persia, and founded the satrapies, Cyprus, with
Phoenicia and Palestine, formed the fifth province.
Some time after this, the people of the island, except the
King of Amathus, revolted against the Persians, and
joined the lonians. Onesilus, brother of Gorgus, King
of the Salaminians, and leader of this revolt, besieged
Amathus, but was forced to desist bv the advance of
the Persian general Artabazus, and, united with the
lonians, their ships encountered the Persian fleet,
mostly Phoenician vessels, off" the Kleides (Cape St.
Andreas), and after more than one combat, defeated it.
Onesilus, at the beginning of the struggle, was equally
victorious on land ; but was ultimately defeated through
the treachery of the Salaminians and of Stephanor (or
Stasanor, as he is called by others). King of Curium,
who deserted to the Persians. Onesilus and Aristo-
cyprus. King of Soli, were slain, the head of the former
was cut off by the Amathusians in revenge and placed
over one of the gates of their city. Some time after-
wards a swarm of bees took possession of the empty
skull ; the people of Amathus, alarmed, consulted the
24 CYPRUS.
oracle at Paphos, which instructed them to appease the
manes of Onesilus by interring his skull and making
annual sacrifices in his honour ; these ceremonies were
still observed in the time of Herodotus (v. 104-5).
The lonians hearing of the defeat of Onesilus and
the submission of the Salaminians to Gorgus, returned
to defend their own country.
B.C. 477, the Athenians and Lacedemonians con-
quered part of Cyprus from the Persians ; thirty years
later Cimon, with 200 ships, made an effort to capture
the remainder of the island, but as he died of disease
while besieging Citium the fleet returned to Athens,
and all the Athenian conquests were abandoned.
Evagoras landed with a small force and endeavoured to
conquer the island ; but the kings of Amathus, Soli,
and Citium summoned the Persiaps to resist him. He
then allied himself with King Acoris of Egypt, and the
Athenians, and was aided by an Athenian fleet under
Chabrias, but some time after this Artaxerxes made
peace with the lonians and the Greeks of the isles,
and Cyprus seemed to have reverted to the Persians.
Evagoras, however, determined not to be left in the
lurch by the desertion of his allies, reinforced himself
among the Cypriotes, and procured mercenaries to the
number of 70,000. He was assisted by the Tyrians
with twenty vessels, and by the Egyptians with fifty
more, so that he had with his own fleet a navy of 200
ships. Artaxerxes sent 300,000 men and 300 ships,
under the command of Orontes, his son-in-law, and
Tiribazus, the latter having the supreme command.
Evagoras contrived to attack near Citium a part of the
enemy's fleet which was laden with stores ; he captured
many ships and destroyed many others ; but while
returning in triumph to Salamis he was met unprepared,
behind Cape Pedalium, by the Persian admiral Gaos,
with the remainder of the ships ; Evagoras and his fleet
INTRODUCTION. 2$
were utterly defeated and dispersed. The Persian
troops under Tiribazus attacked Citium, from which
place Evagoras, leaving his son in command, departed
secretly for Egypt in search of aid. His journey
proving fruitless, he returned and sued for peace from
Tiribazus; this was offered on three conditions: ist,
that Evagoras should abandon all Cyprus, except his
own dominion of Salamis ; 2nd, that he should pay an
annual tribute ; and 3rd, that he should acknowledge
the Persian monarch as his suzerain. Evagoras ac-
cepted the former two of these conditions, but proudly
rejected the third, so that hostilities were begun again ;
but soon afterwards Tiribazus was replaced by Orontes,
who agreed to the terms of Evagoras. And thus ended
a contest of ten years' duration, which cost the Persians
50,000 talents, and left Evagoras in possession of his
kingdom as before the war. Evagoras was murdered by
an eunuch named Thrasidaeus, and succeeded by his son
Nicocles, who gave twenty talents to Isocrates in return
for an eulogy which he had written in his father's
honour. In an eulogy of Nicocles, the same orator
treated at length of the reciprocal duties of subjects
and kings. In his general oration on Evagoras, Iso-
crates leads us to understand that bull-fights, games,
races, and other ceremonies occurred during the
obsequies. In 350 B.C., nine Cypriote kings revolted
against the Persian Artaxerxes Ochus, who ordered
Idricus of Caria to send forty ships and 8,000 men
under the command of Phocion and Evagoras, son of
Nicocles, who had been disinherited by Protagoras.
Phocion besieged Salamis by land and sea, his soldiers
being attracted by the immense wealth of the city,
which was then in the height of its prosperity, but
the city resisted to the last, and until Protagoras
succeeded in convincing Artaxerxes that Evagoras was
betraying him ; so that the latter was removed, and
26 CYPRUS.
the submission of the former on favourable terms was
accepted.
When Alexander, B.C. 335, besieged Tyre, the Kings
of Cyprus voluntarily aided him with 120 ships. In
return for assistance on this occasion Alexander con-
ferred the sovereignty of Citium on Pnytagoras. After
the death of Alexander the Kings of Cyprus formed two
parties : the Kings of Citium, Marium, Lapethus, and
Cerynea, joined Antigonus; while Nicocreon, of Salamis,
and all the others favoured Ptolemy Lagos. Ptolemy
sent his brother Menelaus, with 12,000 men and 100
ships, to aid his friends in the island ; Seleucus, who
commanded the fleet, captured Cerynea and Lapethus,
forced the Kings of Amathus and Marium to give
hostages to him ; he then went to besiege Pygmalion,
King of Citium, in his capital. In the year 312 B.C.,
Ptolemy came with a large army to reduce to obedience
the remaining rulers of Cyprus, and put Pygmalion to
death because he had treacherously corresponded with
Antigonus, probably after he had given hostages to
Ptqlemy, and, learning that Stasicecus and Praxippus
were preparing to revolt again, sent them both prisoners
to Egypt. He destroyed the city of Marium, and trans-
ferred its people to Paphos. Before leaving the island
to fight Antigonus, Ptolemy made his friend, the King
of Salamis (Nicocreon), ruler over all the cities of the
dispossessed kings. While in Cilicia the Egj^ptian
monarch learnt that Nicocles, King of Paphos, was
treating secretly with Antigonus, and accordingly he
despatched Argaeus and Callicrates to Cyprus with
orders to slay Nicocles ; on their arrival Menelaus gave
them troops, who surrounded the condemned monarch's
palace, entered it, and delivered the orders of Ptolemy
to him. Nicocles endeavoured in vain to exculpate
himself, but seeing that even his friends had deserted
him he fell on his sword, and his wife, Axiothea, slew
INTRODUCTION. 27
herself on his corpse, after having killed her young
daughters with her own hands. The slain king*s
brothers set fire to the palace, and with it consumed
the royal household. Thus the entire family of the
kings of Paphos was destroyed.
Demetrius Poliorcetes, son of Antigonus, was, B.C. 306,
sent by his father to expel Menelaus from Cyprus, and
landed there with 15,000 foot and 400 horse, near Car-
passia ; with the aid of 100 galleys and other ships he
attacked Salamis, having surprised Carpassia and taken
Urania by assault.
Menelaus opposed the invader with 12,000 infantry
and 800 horsemen, ind after a short but sanguinary
battle was compelled to retreat in disorder to Salamis,
his capital. Demetrius took 4000 prisoners, and slew
more than 2000 of the native army in this combat,
and afterwards strenuously besieged Menelaus in the
city, using his land and naval forces for this purpose,
blockading the harbour ; the place was, however, well
provisioned and strongly fortified, and resisted success-
fully. Ptolemy, hearing of the distress of his lieutenant,
hastened to Cyprus with 150 galleys and 200 smaller
vessels, landing first at Paphos and next at Citium.
Demetrius, one of the ablest generals of antiquity, had
meanwhile occupied all the important strategic points
on the south-east coast of the island, from Cape St.
Andreas to Citium, and on learning the arrival of the
enemy, left ten galleys to continue the blockade of
Salamis, and with the rest of his fleet met that of the
Egj'ptian king between Capes Pyla and Pedalium
(Cape Greco), and so thoroughly defeated the latter
that Ptolemy returned home at once. Menelaus, thus
left to his fate, surrendered at the discretion of the
victor. Among the captives taken at Salamis was
Leontiscus, son of Ptolemy, whom Demetrius set free.
Antigonus, hearing of his son*s great victory, assumed
28 CYPRUS.
the title of king, and bestowed the same distinction on
Demetrius.
Ten years after these events Ptolemy Soter retook
the island from Demetrius Poliorcetes ; Salamis, where
the family of the latter resided during his absence from
Cyprus, being the only city which made any show of
resistance to this new change. Ptolemy, however,
without much effort, took the city, set the royal family
free, and loaded Demetrius with gifts, thus returning
the generosity by which he had benefited on the
former occasion. After this capture, with hardly an
intermission, Cyprus remained under the sceptre of
the Ptolemies* Engel (i., p. 423) states that the island
became independent of Egypt in the reign of Ptolemy
Lathyros (b.c. 103), and that at this period the Cypriotes
and the Maccabees of Judaea were at war.
Cyprus was from this time until long after a depen-
dency of Eg>'pt, ruled by one of the Ptolemaic family,
with the title of king, or by a viceroy chosen from
among the most eminent Egj'ptians. The last of these
potentates was Cleopatra's uncle, who devoted himself
so earnestly to the acquisition of riches, that when
Publius Claudius Pulcher, a Roman of high family,
was taken prisoner by the Cilician pirates in the waters
of Cyprus, and sent to the king of the island for his
ransom, Ptolemv furnished but two talents for the
purpose, which the pirates refused to accept, preferring
to set their captive free without a ransom, and on his
parole. The Roman determined to revenge himself,
and being chosen Tribune obtained a decree from the
Roman Senate to dispossess the king and constitute
the island a province of Rome. Marcus Cato was
commanded to put this decree in force, and despite his
conscientious objections to this act of spoliation, was
compelled to obey. On this he sent Canidius, his
secretary, to Ptolemy in Cyprus, to communicate his
INTRODUCTION. 29
orders, and to offer him the high priesthood of the
Paphian Venus, with all its honours and riches, instead
of the kingdom. On the arrival of the deputy, Ptolemy,
not daring to resist, loaded several vessels with his
much-loved treasures, and sailed from Salamis, intend-
ing perhaps to go elsewhere, or to sink them with him-
self into the sea, so as to deprive the greedy Romans of
their prey; but his courage failing at the last moment,
he returned, shut himself up in the palace, and with
all his gold about him, took poison. Thus ended the
Ptolemaic dynasty in Cyprus.
Cato took possession of the island, and was well
received by the inhabitants, who probably feared the
Romans as much as their late monarch had done. He
found immense treasures in the palace at Salamis,
sold the whole for the enormous sum of 7,000 talents,
and sent the money to Rome, reserving for himself, it
is said, only a statuette of Zeno, the philosopher of
Citium.
In the year 52 B.C., Cicero superseded Appius as
pro-consul of Cyprus and Cilicia, with his oflFicial resi-
dence at the latter place ; by a letter from him to
Sextius Rufus, the first Quaestor of the island, it
appears that he recommended in the strongest manner
the Cypriotes to the care of this officer, particularly
referring to the people of Paphos.
Strabo tells us that Antony gave the island to
Cleopatra, but at the death of the Triumvir, Augustus
revoked the gift, and annexed Cyprus to the empire ;
he afterwards presented it to the Roman people, who
despatched a pro-consul to govern it. It was in the
reign of Tiberius that St. Paul visited the island, then
under the pro-consul Sergius Paulus, and performed
in that officer's presence the miracle on Bar-jesus, the
sorcerer (Acts xiii. 14). When St. Paul visited Paphos,
he was so badly treated that he declared the citizens
30 , CYPRUS.
to be the worst men of the world. This description
is said, and with some truth, to be a just one to this
day.
The Jews, although crushed by Vespasian and Titus
in Judea, continued their resistance to the Romans in
other provinces. Those of Cyprus formed a numerous
army, which was led by Arteminius, and during the
reign of Trajan, a.d. 115, committed such direful
excesses that very nearly a quarter of a million
Cypriotes were, it is said, slain. Two years later these
malcontents were utterly defeated by the Romans, and
by a d^ree of the Senate were expelled from the island.
So rigidly was this law enforced, that during several
succeeding centuries any Jew who was wrecked on the
coast of Cyprus was instantly put to death. After this
expulsion of the Jews, Christianity increased rapidly in
the island, and, under Constantine, this province was
one of the richest in his empire.
The attempt of the camel driver Calocerus to make
himself King of Cyprus, and thus revive the ancient
independent position of the island, a.d. 334, was frus-
trated by Dalmatius, who captured the ambitious
aspirant and sent him a prisoner to Constantine, who
ordered the rebel to be flayed alive, and burnt, a sentence
which was executed at Tarsus. Numerous attempts of
the Arabs to acquire Cyprus were but temporarily
successful. The Byzantine Emperors never failed to
recover possession of the island from the invaders.
Phocas, who reigned from 602 a.d. till 610, made
Cyprus a province of his empire, and placed it under
the command of a duke, or military leader. During
the kalifate of Othman, his lieutenant Moavyah invaded
the island, and, a.d. 648-9, returned with seventy ships
laden with booty. The Arabs retained the island for a
short time only. The Emperor Justinian the Second
made, we are told, a serious attempt to transfer the
INTRODUCTION. 3I
population en masse^ so as to leave Cyprus a desert ;
this was in the year a.d. 6gi. In a.d. 726, Leo the
Third recovered the island for the empire ; it was again
in the hands of the Arabs during the reign of the Kalif
Haroun-el-Reshid, a.d. 803, who were again expelled in
964 by the Christians. The Duke of Cyprus, being to
some extent independent of Byzantium, took advantage
of the oft-recurring weakness or necessities of the
empire to endeavour to throw off the yoke, but these
revolts were never fortunate.
Cyprus was a frequent halting-place of the Crusaders
on their way from the West to the East, and more than
one leader of these expeditions found a grave in this
island. Among them was Guelph, the fourth Duke of
Bavaria, who in iioi died in Cyprus ; four years later
the same fate befell Eric, the first King of Denmark,
and in 1148, Amedeus, Count of Maurianne and Savoy,
joined this company of the dead. In 1190, Isaac
Comnenos, fated to be the last Duke of Cyprus, was so
notoriously cruel, that the Byzantine Emperor, Isaac
Angelus, on more than one occasion strongly remon-
strated with his harsh vassal, but with little or no
success.
A new figure now appeared in Cyprus in the person
of Richard the First, King of England, who, while on
his way to the Holy Land in iigi, ascertained that
some of his soldiers, shipwrecked on the island, had
been robbed by the subjects of Comnenos, and that his
sister, and Berengaria his betrothed bride, had been
insulted by the Duke. Richard landed with troops
near Amathus, took that city without much difficulty,
and entirely destroyed it. A few days later, the English
and the Cypriotes met in battle in the plain of
Mesaoria, near the ancient Tremithus ; the latter were
soon defeated, and the Duke was taken prisoner.
Richard loaded his prisoner with silver chains, deprived
32 CYPRUS.
him of his dignity, and carrying him away in captivity,
sold the island to the Knights Templars. These soldiers
of the Cross used their appanage with so little wisdom
and restraint, that, induced by the complaints of the
natives, King Richard resumed his rights to the island,
and sold it again to Guy of Lusignan, a French
Crusader, who thereupon, in 1192, founded the new
kingdom of Cyprus, having not long before this event
lost his kingdom of Jerusalem at the hands of Saladin,
who had in 11 87 defeated him in the battle of
Tiberias.
The Lusignan dynasty held peaceful possession of
the island until 1372, when King Peter the Second
entertained several Genoese and Venetians of eminence
at Nicosia on his coronation day. These guests
quarrelled about precedence, and appealed to the king
to decide the point at issue. The Genoese were, it is
said, so highly offended by a verdict which was adverse
to their pretensions, that they proposed to slay King
Peter during the feast to which he had invited them
and their rivals. Informed of the murderous intention
of his guests, the king caused the malcontents to be
thrown from the windows of his palace, or otherwise
slain, and ordered that every subject of Genoa should
be put to- death. This monstrous command was, un-
fortunately for Peter, only too faithfully obeyed. The
Republic of Genoa, highly exasperated by this treatment
of her citizens, immediately proceeded to punish Lu-
signan by despatching a considerable fleet to Cyprus,
under the command of the admiral Pietro Fregoso.
This officer, after several engagements, captured the
city of Famagosta, and carried away Jacopo Lusignan,
the king's uncle, and Lieutenant Governor of the
island. In 1374 Peter married Valentine, daughter of
Bernabo Visconti, Duke of Milan, and died in the year
1382.
INTRODUCTION. 33
When this event happened, the nobles of Cyprus
sent an embassy to Genoa and obtained the release of
Lusignan and made him king. The Genoese continued
to hold and garrison Famagosta, which they strongly
fortified in order to ensure their hold on the island.
The son of Jacopo bore the same name, and succeeded
his father in 1398. Having been captured by Barsbay,
Sultan of Egypt, in 1426, the second Jacopo obtained
his freedom on condition of paying tribute to Egypt,
thus reviving a practice which obtained more than two
thousand years before, and he died in 1452, leaving
two children, John or Jano, and Agnes. The latter
married a prince of the house of Savoy. The former
succeeded his father on the throne of Cyprus, and
inherited effeminacy, indolence, and selfishness, the
vices of his predecessors.
He had, however, been fortunate in obtaining the
hand of Helena Paleologos, niece of the Emperor of
Constantinople, who by effecting some popular reforms,
proved capable of reigning. She died much lamented
in Cyprus; her husband died in 1456, and Carlotta,
their daughter, was the last legitimate descendant of
the Lusignans. King John of Cyprus, however, left a
natural son named James, who while a youth had been
made Archbishop of Cypruis.
Carlotta married, first, one of the sons of the King
of Portugal, and it is said caused him to be poisoned
because he had endeavoured to abrogate certain laws
which Queen Helena had made in favour of the Greek
clergy. The second husband of Queen Carlotta was
Louis of Savoy, who proved unequal to a contest at
arms with James, the natural son of King John just
mentioned, and a man of great ability, who was highly
popular with the natives of the island, and who,
becoming impatient at the presence of a stranger
on the throne of his father, united in a revolt with
D
34 CYPRUS.
some of the chief persons of Nicosia, with whose aid
he intended to expel the Savoyard prince from power
and from the island. Carlotta, informed of the object
of her enemies, endeavoured to arrest her brother in his
own archiepiscopal palace, but he, divesting himself of
his priestly robes, fled in disguise to the nearest port,
Cerynia, and from thence, assisted by his partisans,
passed into Egypt, where he solicited the protection
of the Sultan. This ruler assuring himself that the
young rebel would, if installed king of the island,
pay the tribute already due and continue it, furnished
the Cypriote archbishop with money and troops, with
which aid James soon returned to Cyprus, and after
overcoming the by no means strong resistance of
Carlotta's husband, was proclaimed king, with the title
of James the Second.
Before dismissing his mercenary troops the new
monarch captured Famagosta from the Genoese, and
compelled them to leave the island. This success
greatly increased his popularity among the natives,
who naturally disliked to see foreign troops occupying
one of their most important cities. He then shrewdly
allied himself with Venice as a powerful patron,
capable of opposing Genoa. With this purpose, and
in order to secure an heir to his throne and thus per-
petuate the blood of the Lusignans which he claimed to
inherit, this king determined to marry. It is probable
that his illegitimate birth indisposed him to seek a bride
of royal blood. He had seen the miniature portrait
of a niece of Cornaro, a Venetian nobleman at his
court, and fell in love with her. He must have had
some correspondence with her, as he seemed to have
understood the hint given him by the Venetian doge,
Christopher Moro, in a letter dated July, 1469, com-
plaining of his trifling with the aff'ections of Catherine
Coraaro. On the receipt of this letter James asked
« I
INTRODUCTION.
35
formally the hand of this noble maiden from the Senate
of Venice, a request which with a gravity suitable to
the nature of the proceedings was granted. A dowry
of a hundred thousand gold ducats was bestowed on
the bride. She was adopted as a daughter of the
State, and sent to Cyprus with a splendid retinue.
The political and matrimonial arrangement which
was thus brought about was not fated to endure very
long. In 1473 the new king died, leaving his young
and beautiful wife to direct the realm in the interest of
their unborn heir. Two months subsequent to her
husband's decease Catherine gave birth to a son, who
received the name of his father, was crowned king of
the island, and before he was twelve months old
followed his father to the tomb.
The royal office, if the testament of King James had
been respected, or the wishes of the Cypriotes consulted,
would have devolved upon one of his three natural
sons, but such a thing would not have suited the
Venetian policy, consequently Loredano, with the
powerful fleet then wintering in the island, received
orders to recognise Catherine without delay as the
Queen of Cyprus.
Ferdinand, King of Naples and Sicily, also seemed
to have a longing eye for Cyprus, and sent ambas-
sadors to the young widow, offering her consolation,
and at the same time the hand of his son. Catherine,
whether or not guided in the matter by the influence
of Venice, declined to accept the Prince, and notwith-
standing the efforts of other wooers, remained un-
married.
Catherine thus reigned alone for sixteen years.
During that time the Senate of Venice tried in vain
to induce her to abdicate in favour of her native
country. At last, in 1488, disgusted at so many
intrigues, and recognising the impossibility of holding
D 2
36 CYPRUS.
the crown much longer, she was persuaded by the
Venetian Ambassador, Giorgio^Cornaro, who was her
own brother, to abdicate in favour of Venice.
While these events were taking place in Cyprus, the
unfortunate but heroic Carlotta died in Rome (1487),
bestowing in solemn manner the kingdom of Cyprus on
Charles, Duke of Savoy and his heirs, who from that
time assumed the title of Kings of Cyprus.
The Admiral Francesco Prioli accepted the island
in the name of Venice, with ceremonies which had
been designed beforehand, to give a popular colour to
an accomplished fact. The Cypriote nobility was dis-
satisfied, but unable to oppose this change of Govern-
ment. Disturbances took place on this occasion at
Nicosia and some other places, but they were of no
consequence.
At Famagosta, in a church now used as a granary
and stable by the Turks, I saw in 1874 some frag-
ments of a marble slab, which bore an inscription
of great interest in connection with the last hours of
the long existing realm of Cyprus. On the upper part
of the slab is carved in low relief the winged lion of St.
Mark and a view of Famagosta; the other portion
had been broken in pieces, and used for the repair
of the stable ; though much worn by the animals'
hoofs, the inscription could be made out, and ran
thus, —
** FRAHaSCO DE PrIULIS VeNETvE CLASSi
iMPERtfW/^ Divi Marci WESsi//um
CyPRI /rLICITER ERECTUM ES/
Anso 1488, 28 FEBRUdrr/V."
The ex-Queen Catherine started for Venice early in
1489, accompanied by Giorgio Cornaro and the three
illegitimate sons of her husband, who by order of
Venice had to leave Cyprus.
INTRODUCTION. 37
The Doge Barbarigo with the whole Senate went to
receive Catherine on her arrival at Venice, and during
her stay in that city she was splendidly entertained ;
the beautiful town of Asolo, with all its dependencies
and revenue, was assigned to her in exchange for her
realm ; in Asolo she lived for many years, the centre
of no little romantic sentiment, and some legends
which yet survive. There she ended her days.
The Republic of Venice retained Cyprus for only
eighty-two years. During this time the island was
visited by several calamities. In 1492 and 1542 many
of the towns were destroyed by earthquakes. In
1544 locusts made their appearance in such large
numbers, that they destroyed all existing vegetation,
and for two years the inhabitants had to be fed with
provisions imported from abroad. In 1547 it rained
so extraordinarily that the rivers were changed into
torrents, and the plain of Mesaoria into a lake ; no
crop could be raised that year, and the population
suffered as much as from the locusts. But the greatest
calamity that threatened Cyprus, was the increasing
power of the Turks, and the advance they were making
in Asia and Africa. More than once already had
Turkish pirates entered some of her ports and ravaged
the neighbouring towns with impunity as a prelude of
what was soon to follow.
Venice, informed of these excursions, decided to send
Savorniani with a staff of engineers to repair the
fortresses of Cyprus. Famagosta and Cerynia were
repaired sufficiently to resist a regular siege, the others
were dismantled as beyond repair. The walls of
the city of Nicosia were reduced considerably in
extent. In 1570 Selim II. asked Venice to cede to
him the island of Cyprus, and upon her refusal he
began to make extensive preparations to take it by
force. This news spread consternation among all the
38 CYPRUS.
Christian populations along the shores of the Medi-
terranean. Pope Pius V. vainly attempted another
crusade by calling Europe to arms ; much time was
lost in conferences and negotiations, and no energetic
measures were adopted. Venice, trembling, fortified
herself at home, and forgot or was unable to send
troops to garrison the fortresses repaired by Savor-
niani. The Turks lost no time in sending from
Rhodes and Negropont a fleet of 360 vessels to con-
quer Cyprus.
On the 1st of July, 1570, the Turks landed in the
neighbourhood of Limassol, without any opposition, an
army of 100,000 men, composed of 70,000 infantry,
30,000 cavalry, and 200 cannon, under the command
of Lala Mustafa. While the heavy artillery was being
landed, his irregular cavalry scoured the country and
ravaged all the towns. In the latter part of July
Mustafa Pasha, with his whole army, had begun the
siege of Nicosia, garrisoned only by 10,000 men of
different nationalities and religion. The defence was
badly conducted, yet the Turks spent seven weeks in
capturing the city, entering it on the gth of September,
after several desperate assaults. For a whole week
the city was given up to the ferocity of the captors,
and the scenes of horror which followed beggar de-
scription. Twenty thousand persons of both sexes
were pitilessly butchered, and two thousand youths
carried away into captivity. On the 15th of September,
Mustafa Pasha started to besiege Famagosta, the last
stronghold which still defied the barbarous Osmanli.
The place was defended by Venetian troops, who,
though only 7,000 in number, resisted for a long time,
always in the hope of receiving assistance from their
mother country. The efforts of Venice to help Fama-
gosta amounted to next to nothing. On the 2gth of
July, after a siege of nearly ten months* duration, when
INTRODUCTION. 39
all the provisions and ammunition were exhausted, and
most of the troops maimed or killed, the heroic com-
mander General Bragadino displayed the white flag,
and proposed his conditions of surrender.
These were eagerly accepted by the treacherous
Mustafa ; hostages were exchanged ; Turkish vessels,
as stipulated, entered the port of Famagosta, and took
on board all those who wished to leave the island ;
nothing remained but the formality of delivering the
keys of the city to the victor.
On the 5th of August General Bragadino, accom-
panied by his lieutenants Baglioni, Martinengo, and
Quirini, went to the Turkish camp, and was politely
received by Mustafa. After the delivery of the keys
and when General Bragadino had risen to take leave,
the vile Turk . asked him for special hostages for the
safe return from Candia of the Turkish vessels which
were to convey him and his men thither; Bragadino
refused this, as not having been stipulated in the
accepted conditions of his surrender. Then Mustafa
accused him of bad faith, and of having put to death
fifty Turkish pilgrims after he had surrendered, which
was indignantly denied by Bragadino. The Pasha,
becoming enraged, ordered the four Venetians to be
put to death, and in a few minutes General Baglioni,
Martinengo, and Quirini were executed in the presence
of Bragadino, for whom a more terrible death was
reserved ; the executioner cut off his nose and ears :
three times he was made to lay his head on the block,
as if to be beheaded, then, heavily chained, was thrown
into a dark dungeon and left for nine days in that
miserable condition.
On the tenth day, by order of Mustafa, Bragadino
was brought out of prison and made to carry earth for
the repair of the fortifications during several hours,
after which, more dead than alive, the heroic soldier
40 cvrRUs.
was tied to a stake, and in the presence of the ferocious
Mustafa was flayed alive. His skin, stuffed with hay,
was sent with the heads of the other three Venetians
as presents to the Sultan.
The same bloody scenes which had occurred at
Nicosia were repeated at Famagosta, though it appears
that the rage of the Turks at this place was more par-
ticularly directed against the Roman Catholics ; the
people on board the Turkish vessels, instead of being
brought to Candia, as it had been stipulated, were
landed at Constantinople and sold as slaves.
Thus Cyprus was conquered, and is doomed to remain
a part of the Turkish Empire as long as enlightened
Christian Powers uphold, by their jealousies, such an
impracticable and monstrous government.
cribtd KHTHAC. Hdghi, SJ in
CHAPTER I.
Appointed American Consul at Cyprus. — Arrival at Larnaca in 1865.—
Description of the town. — Lamaca built on the ruins of Citium. —
Its remains of Phcenician, Assyrian, and Creek Art. — Foundations
of a Phcenician and a Greek Temple discovered, — Phcenician
and Greek inscriptions found in them. — Diggings forbidden by
the Turkish authorities. — Arrest of a Consular employ^ — His
release, and the satisfaction obtained from the Porte.
At the close of the civil war in the United States, in
which I had taken part, I was appointed Consul of
Cyprus by President Lincoln a few days before his tragic
death. I arrived at my post on the Christmas Day of
1865, after a stormy voyage of fifteen days from Ancona,
where I had taken passage on board an Austrian Lloyd
steamer for Cj-prus, that being the only regular line
touching at the island, and that but once in fifteen
days.
I shall never forget the first impression 1 had of the
town of Larnaca, my future official residence, while the
42 CYPRUS. [Chap. I.
vessel was slowly steaming towards her anchorage.
The day was cloudy, and the sea very rough. The
anchor was cast at a mile or so from the shore, there
being no harbour, only an open bay. The town from
that distance looked the very picture of desolation ; no
sign of life, no vegetation anywhere visible, except a
few solitary palm trees, with their long leaves droop-
ing, as if in sign of mourning. I admit that my first |
thought was to remain on board, and not to land on
such a forlorn-looking island.
The captain, an able sailor, who during our extra-
ordinarily long passage had been the essence of kind-
ness to my family, endeavoured to persuade us that
Cyprus was an earthly paradise, and assured us that
we should, after a while, like it very much. Has his
prediction been realised ? I leave the reader of these
pages to judge by the fact, that I am writing this,
ten years afterwards, from the same town ; though
not quite prepared to accept its distinctive features as
paradisaical.
I remarked, as we came in sight of Larnaca, that
the ** stars and stripes'' had been hoisted on board
the steamer, as a token of respect for the Repre-
sentative of the American Republic. Soon after-
wards, as if by enchantment, above a row of buildings ^
near the sea-shore, were seen floating the flags of other
nations. They had almost the eff'ect of changing the
aspect of the town. This was the usual compliment
paid by the foreign Consuls to their new colleagues.
A large lighter, called by the natives ** Mahona,"
flying the American colours, soon approached our
steamer. The craft contained about twenty persons;
some armed with antiquated pistols, others with
yatagans, and carrying silver-headed batons six feet
in length. All had the red **fez," a common head-
dress of both the Mussulman and Christian natives of
Chap. I.] LARNACA (CITIUM). 43
the island. This heterogeneous crowd came on deck,
entered the cabin, and would in all probability have
invaded my state rooms also, had I not promptly
come out to meet them. The spokesman, expressing
himself in tolerably good Italian, said that he had the
honour to present to me the ** staif of the American
Consulate."
I must confess I was not very proud of the personal
appearance made by my consular employes. Every
one as he approached me, instead of taking my prof-
fered hand, would kiss the tips of my fingers, or make
pretence of so doing.
After having gone through this ceremonial, which
seemed de rigttetir^ I was informed that my luggage
had been transferred to the lighter ; so I took leave
of the captain, assisted my wife and infant into the
** Mah6na," and sailed towards the shore. The nearer
we approached Larnaca the less I liked its appear-
ance ; when we reached within four or five yards of the
shore, where a large crowd of people was gathering to
witness the arrival of the new Consul (always an event
in this town) the ** Mah6na,'* probably too heavily
laden, stuck in the sand, and a surprise of a new kind
awaited us. The lighter, in spite of the wild and
deafening yells of the boatmen in encouraging one
another, could not be made to advance an inch
further. A boatman jumped into the water and made
a sign to me to alight on his broad shoulders.
Other boatmen did the same, and began to land my
** staff officers " in this manner. I comprehended at
a glance that there was nothing else for me to do but
to comply. It was therefore in this undiplomatic style
that I was obliged to make my entry into the city of
Larnaca.
To persuade my wife, however, to accept this biped
conveyance, would have been time lost ; she would
44 CYPRUS. [Chap. I.
have returned all the way to New York, rather than
submit to such an act of impropriety. She was sure,
she said, that there must be a landing somewhere for
ladies ; but, alas ! the island of Cyprus does not re-
semble her native Manhattan, and landing-places here
for the convenience of travellers are quite unheard-of
luxuries.
A bright idea occurred to one of my employes ; a
chair was procured, and held by two boatmen, and the
American Consul's wife was invited to sit on it, and be
thus landed! But not even the ** sella curuHs " of a
Roman Senator would have induced her to accept it.
Fortunately, however, the ** Mahona,*' having been
considerably lightened by the landing of all my em-
ployes and our luggage, was made to move once more
nearer the shore, when my wife, refusing all aid, sprang
lightly to the beach. Once on terra firma, we were
welcomed by several foreign Consuls, who had kindly
gathered there to receive us, and offer us their hospi-
tality ; this we found we should be forced to accept for
a time from one of them, as no hotels of any description
exist in Larnaca.
How pleasant it was to hear that there were no
hotels wherein to take shelter, no shops wherein to
buy household furniture of any kind, and that the
only resource left for us was to accept the proffered
hospitahty of persons utterly unknown to us five
minutes before ! Yet how courteous and kindly
manners can soften even the asperities of life amid
a semi-barbarous people ! And such was my ex-
perience at the hands of my Italian colleague, Cava-
liere Candido Negri and his wife, who generously
offered us the hospitality of their house. I remember
well the pleasant society into which I found myself
introduced among my colleagues at that period ;
Ceccaldi and his brother; Lang and his sister, Negri
Chap. I.] LARNACA (CITIUM). 45
•
with his accomplished wife, and Simondetti with his
young bride.
The day after our arrival the Governor, or Caima-
kam as he is called, and other local authorities, called
officially upon me ; and during a whole week I was
occupied continually in receiving or returning calls.
Fortunately, by the end of that time, I succeeded in
getting together some scanty furniture, which Mr. Lang
and the Belgian Consul had kindly put at my disposal,
and I took possession of a tolerably good house, in
which I am living at the present day.
Larnaca, which derives its name from the ancient
tombs upon which it is partly built, is a modern town,
sprung into existence since the conquest of the island
by the Turks, and like some of the ancient cities of
Cyprus is divided into two separate districts, about
twenty minutes' walk from each other. That portion
which lies along the seashore is called the ** Marina,''
while Larnaca proper is about three-quarters of a mile
inland.
Some forty or fifty years ago all the consulates were
in Larnaca ; the ** Marina " at that period consisting
only of a few scattered houses and magazines. But
since the pirates of the Greek Archipelago, who used to
infest these shores, have ceased to exist, thanks espe-
cially to England, the ** Marina " has become the
commercial centre of the whole island. The shore is
now covered for half a mile in extent with private
dwelling-houses, possesses an extensive bazaar, several
churches and mosques, and is increasing every year, in
the same ratio as Larnaca proper becomes depopulated.
The foreign Consuls, with one or two exceptions, reside
at the ** Marina," in a row of buildings a few feet from
the sea, almost following one another in succession.
The exterior appearance of the houses is rather humble,
and without pretension ; but they are spacious, and not
46 CYPRUS. [Chap. I.
altogether deprived of a certain degree of comfort. I
am led to believe, from the Greek church of Saint
Lazarus still existing in the neighbourhood, which is
said by the natives to have been built over the tomb of
Saint Lazarus more than a thousand years ago, and
which bears evident traces of Byzantine architecture,
but above all from tombs of that period which I dis-
covered in its immediate vicinity, and the remains of
mosaic pavements met with here and there, that
previous to the Turkish conquest, not only storehouses,
but a town of some importance existed here, though no
record of the fact, that I know of, now remains. The
population of both districts does not amount to more
than 8,000 souls; of these about 3,000 are Mussulmans,
and the remainder Christians. There is likewise a
sprinkling of the descendants of Europeans. A little
north-west of the ** Marina," in the intervening fields
between the two districts, are to be seen evident remains
of the ancient city of Citium.
The distance from Citium to Amathus is about forty-
eight miles, or twelve hours' ride (as reckoned by the
native mode of travelling). Like Amathus, it had been
founded by Phoenicians, and it is probable, as already
pointed out, that it was owing to the paramount import-
ance of this town that its name of Kittim was in early
times applied to the whole island. It seems also to
have retained its Phoenician character longer than such
other towns as Amathus and Paphos, being always a
place celebrated for its trade and commerce, and not
being under the hierarchical influence which prevailed
in those two towns. In the earliest records, as of the
refusal to pay tribute to Tyre in the reign of Hiram,
and afterwards again in the reign of Elulaeus, Citium
is identified with Cyprus, but it is not certain whether
we ought to conclude from this that it had taken a
leading part in these movements, though such is far
Chap. I.] I.ARNACA (CITIUM). 47
from improbable. As Tyre sank in importance, Citium,
from its position, was well suited to take its place as a
centre of commerce between the East and the West. In
the time of Sargon (b.c. 707) we find the King of Citium
included among the six other
Kings of Cyprus who paid hom-
age to that Assyrian monarch.
This appears from the cuneiform
inscription accompanying the has
relief of an Assyrian figure on a
slab of basalt found in the western
outskirts of the "Marina" of
Lamaca in 1846, and now in the
Berlin Museum. The engraving
here given of this slab I owe to
the kindness of Professor Lep-
sius, who sent me a photograph
of it. A King of Citium also
appears among the ten Cypriote
kings who paid tribute to Esar-
haddon.
A considerable number of
Phcenician inscriptions disco-
vered at Citium, and published
by Gesenius, are evidence of its
having continued to be the re-
sidence of Phcenicians, whilst ^*'"'ioik"n'^M^u!r''"""
its readiness to take part with
the Persians against the Greeks, appears to show that
the Phcenician element had preponderated in its popu-
lation. It was on an occasion of this kind that it was
besieged by the Athenian, Cimon, the son of Miltiades,
who lost his life there. Yet it is said by Plutarch, in
his life of Cimon, that the people of Citium paid special
reverence to his tomb, but they had been directed to
do so by an oracle in some time of famine. That
i
48 CYPRUS. [Chap. I.
Citium was regarded as a Phoenician town even in the
time of Cicero (de Finibus, iv. 20), may be inferred
from his calling Zeno, the founder of the Stoics, a
Phoenician, to which title he could have no other
claim than that of his having been born in Citium,
since by parentage he was a Greek. Suidas also
calls him a Phoenician. To the Greek part of the
population was probably due the legend that the i
town had taken its name from Citia, a daughter of
a king of Salamis, which town or kingdom gradually
superseded Citium in importance under the rule of
Evagoras.
In B.C. 391 Citium, with Amathus and Soli, sent
to Artaxerxes for assistance against Evagoras. The
Persian monarch arrived with a fleet and an army.
For a while the forces were equally matched, and
equally destructive of each other, till ultimately the fleet
of Evagoras was completely destroyed. At this time
Citium was a fortified place of considerable extent, and
continued to be so during the sovereignty of ' the
Ptolemies over the island, as appears from Greek in-
scriptions of the latter period found here (Engel, i.,
p. 106-7), ^^ which such military titles as <f>povpdpxos
and apx^a'(OfiaTo<f>v\a^ occur.
Alexander the Great bestowed the sovereignty of
Citium on Pnytagoras, the previous king having been
Pasicyprus, who it would seem, preferring luxury to the
cares of government, had sold his kingship for fifty
talents to one Pymatus. After Pnytagoras there are
mentioned, as kings of Citium, Nicocreon and Pygma-
lion, the latter of whom, on the breaking up of the
empire of Alexander, took part with Antigonus. This,
however, proved the losing side, and Pygmalion was
removed from his kingdom by Ptolemy, the rival of
Antigonus. From this time a military officer seems to
have taken the place of the old kings of Citium.
J
Chap. 1.] Larnaca (CinUM). 49
The close harbour of Citium, mentioned by Strabo,
is almost entirely filled up, and upon the foundations of
a portion of its pier now stands a convent of French
nuns ; large stones belonging to the ancient pier are
found in the fields east of this convent, and remains of the
city walls and of a castle are yet to be met with at a few
feet beneath the surface two hundred yards north-east
of the convent. The ancient coastline is still marked
by a continuous undulating line of rock, formed of agglo-
merated pebbles naturally cemented together by time,
and mistaken by Pococke and other European travellers
for the foundations of the walls which encircled the
ancient city. The only monument of Phoenician archi-
tecture still extant is a sepulchral chapel or tomb, com-
posed of four large stones ; the one forming the roof
overlaps the others and forms a kind of portico. The
natives call this place ^avepoifieinj (Phaneromene), and
the Greek peasants go there to light in the interior of
it candles and lamps in honour of the Panaghia (Holy
Virgin).
On the site of a low hill overlooking the salt lake to
the west of the " Marina," a number of small terra-
cotta figures have been found from time to time during
the past twenty years, and a few specimens of them,
50 CYPRUS. [Chap. I.
chiefly, however, very fragmentary, may be seen in the
New York and British Museums. The typical figure
represented in these terra-cottas is a seated goddess
draped and wearing a high crown (Stephanos), richly
ornamented with rosettes and sphinxes, resembling the
figure of a sphinx in gold found at Curium, or, as in
one instance in the British Museum, with the figure of
a dancing Msenad. From the back of the head hangs
a veil. In the example
here given (which is eleven
and a half inches high) she
is supported on each side
by a female figure, each
holding a casket.
Supposing the central
figure to be Aphrodite, then
the two attendants might be
either Eunomia and Paidia,
as on a painted Greek vase
in the British Museum where
their names are inscribed,
or some other two com-
T.tn-«i»gmupnfG«id»«'«.hi-o panions, such as Peitho,
who are represented on
works of art as attending her ; on the other hand,
the high crown and the hand raised to the breast
would suggest the goddess Demeter, whose worship is
known to have existed in the island, and to have been
accompanied by a very celebrated festival. This sug-
gestion is confirmed by the discovery on this spot of
two inscriptions in honour of Demeter Paralia, to
whom there appears to have been erected a temple
here.. In the British Museum is part of a terra-
cotta group from Dali, apparently representing the
same subject, but only one of the supporting figures
remains ; the goddess herself is headless. Among
Chap. I] LARNACA (CITIUM). 51
the terra-cottas found here were also a number of
other female figures, some seated and others standing,
and a large percentage of rude grotesque represen-
tations, but mostly with a tambourine in their hands
or a lyre. One of these figures is remarkable as
being a portrait probably of a philosopher. From the
fine quality of the clay and the general artistic spirit
of these terra-cottas, particularly of the groups of the
seated goddess, it seems less likely that
they were the provincial work of Cyprus
than that they had been imported from
Greece, most probably from Athens, be-
tween which and Cyprus there existed
active intercourse in the 4th century b.c.
To this period of Greek art these figures
appear to belong. Further, had they been
produced by local artists in Cyprus, we
should have expected to find in them some Ttn^com s.«u«i..
local peculiarity, for example, of dress,
such as we find in the terra-cottas from Tanagra in
BcEOtia. But this is not the case. Along with these
52 CYPRUS. [Chap. I.
terra-cottas of a good period of art, and the many
coarsely executed figures, chiefly representing musical
performers, I found also a number of others represent-
ing an Egyptian goddess with a cow's head, and with
the breasts largely developed.
A distinguished archaeologist who visited Larnaca in
1867, is of opinion that these remains were those of a
potter's manufactory; but upon careful examination I
have })ecome convinced that this was a wrong theory,
and that the terra-cottas belonged to a temple ; in
fact, on the crest of the mound several years after-
wards, I discovered foundations of walls, with frag-
ments of frescoed plaster and two little marble
pedestals with the inscription AHMHTHP IIAPAAIA,
already referred to, on both of them. Before the har-
bour of Citium was filled up, this mound must have
stood very near the sea ; and the epithet of Paralia or
protectrix of the seashore given to the goddess, was
thus an appropriate one.
Another reason for believing that a temple stood
there, and not a potter's factory, is the quantity of
tombs which surround the spot, and which mostly, if
not all, belong to the same period as the terra-cottas ;
that is, from 400 to 300 years before Christ.
It was on this mound that I began, in ' 1866,
in a mere amateur way, the explorations which were
afterwards to expand into very serious undertakings,
and to extend to every part of the island. During
my residence in Larnaca I explored more than 3000
tombs, mostly discovered on the western side of the
** Marina," but, with very few exceptions, they proved
to be of the Greek period, varying from 400 b.c.
to the second century of our era ; and all of them
were mere holes excavated in the earth in the shape of
an oven.
In a tomb a few hundred yards north of the Phoenician
Chap. I.] LARNACA (CITIUM). 53
sepulchral chapel before mentioned, I discovered a very
large sarcophagus in white marble, in excellent preser-
vation, the lid having at the head a representation of
a female head with long tresses. The resemblance
between this sarcophagus and the Phcenician sarcophagi
in the Louvre, from Sidon, is very striking. Two of
these will be found engraved in Longperier's " Musee
Napoleon III.," pi. 16, 17. A very similar sarco-
phagus from Sidon is in the British Museum, and
another, discovered by me at Amathus, is still packed
in the courtyard of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York. In another tomb almost contiguous
54
[Chap. I.
to that in which the marble sarcophagus was found,
two large alabaster vases with their covers were dis-
covered. On one
of these vases is.
incised a Phceni-
cian inscription of
a few letters only.
(See Appendix.)
Another sarco-
phagus was found
in a field adjacent
to the mound con-
taining the terra-
cotta figures ; it
is evidently of a
later period. In the
intervening fields
between the " Ma-
rina" and Larnaca
proper, near the
aqueduct, I found
an architectural
fragment of white
marble with a bas-
relief representing
I Period. Lengih S} tra.
apparently Silenus seizing hold of a Moenad (Doell,
Die Sammlung Cesnola, No. 833, pi. vii. 14) and a
Chap. I.] LARNACA (CITIUM). 55
mutilated statue, perhaps of Ganymede with the eagle,
also in white marble.
Another temple had existed on a little eminence
south-west of the salt lake, and in the vicinity of a
Turkish mosque or convent containing the coffin in
which, it is said, the foster sister of Fatima, the sister
of Mahomet, was buried, and for this reason it is held
in great veneration by the Mahometans. At a depth of
ig inches I found several fragments of white marble
bowls and paterae with Phcenician inscriptions incised
on their rim.
The foundations of this Phcenician temple were found
3^ feet below the surface ; also portions of the pave-
ment consisting of large square slabs in calcareous
stone of the same shape as those used at the present
day in Cyprus, but much larger. One which was dis-
covered intact measured 3 feet g inches in length by
3 feet 4 inches in width, and was nearly 4 inches thick.
The foundations were found in a broken condition, and
56 CYPRUS. [Chap. I.
had been previously destroyed by stone diggers. In
one of the tombs situated between this temple, which
stood upon a conical mound, and the hill containing
the terra-cottas, but nearer to the latter, one of my
diggers with his companions in 1870 discovered a
bronze vase closed at the top with a leaden cover.
When, from a fracture, some gold coins came rolling
out, a scuffle ensued between the diggers, and they
stupidly damaged it beyond repair. They found in it
990 staters of Philip and his son Alexander.
After a few experiments in the vicinity of Larnaca, I
travelled along the southern coast of Cyprus. Visiting
the sites of Amathus and Paphos, and other localities
in their neighbourhood, I came to the conclusion, that
had I sufficient funds at my disposal, I might explore
some of these ruins with a fair chance' of success.
I explained the plan I had conceived to some of my
acquaintances, both in Europe and America, but none
seemed to be disposed to embark in so doubtful and
expensive an enterprise. I had almost given up the
hope of being able to continue my explorations, when
an incident occurred which seemed to put an end to
them for ever ; yet the result was quite the contrary.
The Caimakam (Governor) of Larnaca one day arrested
two of my diggers without previously informing me, as
is the custom, of his intention. I at once called on
him for an explanation ; he informed me in an arrogant
manner that diggings without a firman were strictly
forbidden. I replied that the necessity for a firman to
dig in Cyprus must be something new, as I had not
previously heard of it. ** That is not my affair,'* said
he ; and no persuasions of mine could induce him to
liberate my two men, whohi he retained arbitrarily
in prison for several days without any judgment. When
it is considered that prisoners for petty offences are
obliged in Cyprus to provide their own food or starve.
Chap. I.] THE CAIMAKAM OF LARNACA. 57
and that their families have only their daily labour to
rely on for support, the hardship and injustice of this
sentence is easily perceived. From that day I had a
grudge against the Caimakam of Larnaca, Genab
Effendi, and I promised to repay him whenever an
occasion should present itself. I had not long to wait.
One morning a notable Turk of the ** Marina '* came
and begged me to appoint him to the vacant post of
American Consular Guard, explaining to me that the
Caimakam had a personal spite against him, and had
sworn to have him drafted into the military service. I
was delighted to have so soon a chance of squaring my
accounts with Genab EflFendi, and I immediately ap-
pointed Mustafa Fefsi a regular privileged American
employ6. The Caimakam went into a great rage when
he heard of this appointment, but, Turk-like, he im-
mediately called on me, and tried in his blandest
manner to induce me to make another selection. He
promised never to interfere in my excavations again, if
I would but appoint another man instead of Mustafa;
but I laughed at him, and positively refused to have
any other.
Genab EflFendi, however, intrigued so eflfectively with
his superior, the Governor-General of the island, that
the latter, quite a la turque, without the slightest
authority, refused to recognise Mustafa as my consular
cavass, and wrote to me that I must select another
person. I replied that by the existing Regulations
issued by the Porte, and sanctioned by the foreign
Legations at Constantinople, I had the full right to
select whomsoever I pleased for my consular employes,
and that I would positively insist on my selection, and
protect Mustafa against his Excellency, his Caimakam,
or anybody else.
Four months elapsed, and I thought the aflfair had
been dropped, as is often the case with the Turks, but I
58 CYPRUS. [Chap. I.
was mistaken. One day about this time, when Mustafa
had been sent by me on some official errand, he was
chased by the Turkish poHce into an American store-
house, taken from it by force, and imprisoned as a
deserter from the Turkish army.
My colleagues, as well as the whole island, were
anxious to know what would be my action in the
matter, and whether I would succeed in getting back
my cavass, Mustafa. As a mere necessary formality,
I demanded at once the restitution of my man from the
Caimakam, and, as might be expected, without success.
I then claimed him under protest from the Governor-
General of Cyprus, with a like result. There was no
time to be lost, and I took the first steamer for
Constantinople, to lay my complaint before the Hon.
Edward Joy Morris, our American Minister at the
Porte, explaining to him the whole case. He entirely
approved the course I had pursued, and promised to
sustain my demands for redress in the strongest manner,
and he kept his word.
The satisfaction I asked was very unpalatable to
the Turks at Constantinople, and the Grand Vizir, Aali
Pasha, hoped to evade it by proposing the appointment
of a mixed commission to proceed to Cyprus, in order
to investigate the truth of my allegations, which Mr.
Morris and I readily accepted. The Turkish officials
relied chiefly upon the usual prevarication of their sub-
ordinates in like cases, to sustain their cause ; but the
able manner in which the American Commissioner,
Mr. Augustus J. Johnson, then Consul-General at
Beirut, handled the whole case, caused a decision
entirely in my favour. The timely arrival in the Bay
of Larnaca of two American vessels of war, the
** Ticonderoga '' and the " Canandaigua," coinciding
exactly with the ultimatum sent by Mr. Morris to the
Porte, that if within a week after the decision, full
Chap. I.] RESULT OF THE CAIMAKAM'S INTRIGUE. 59
satisfaction, as promised, was not given, the American
flag would be lowered, forced the Ottoman Government
to accede to all our demands, and officially to acknow-
ledge that the local authorities at Cyprus had acted in
an arbitrary manner, and involuntarily ( ! ) insulted the
American Consul. The following was the satisfaction
received :
1st. The dismissal of Genab EfFendi from the posi-
tion of Governor of Larnaca, and he to be for
ever disqualified for holding any office under
the Ottoman Government.
2nd. The restitution of Mustafa Fefsi and his official
recognition as American Consular Guard.
3rd. A salute of 21 guns to the American flag by the
fortress of Larnaca.
4th. The payment of 10,000 piastres damages to the
American dragoman for the unlawful entrance
by the Turkish police into his premises, with-
out the permission of the American Consul.
5th. The Governor-General of Cyprus to express his
regret officially by letter to the American
Consul for the mistake that he had made.
It was further stipulated and agreed between the
Grand Vizir and the American Minister that the
Governor-General should also, after the incident was
closed, be removed from Cyprus, and sent elsewhere ;
in fact, a month later, a new Pasha arrived from Con-
stantinople to take his place. After such a rude but
salutary lesson the Turkish authorities of this island
became extremely courteous in their behaviour towards
the American Consul, thus often reminding me of their
national proverb, **the hand thou canst not cut off" thou
must kiss.'*
6o CYPRUS. [CHAP. I.
I therefore can cheerfully declare that during the ten
years I remained in Cyprus after that event, no act of
the Turks ever gave me serious cause of complaint ;
and the plan I had conceived for extensive explorations
was carried into execution some months afterwards,
independently of all exterior aid, by embarking all my
private means in the enterprise.
CHAPTER II.
Country life. — Cypriote customs. — Description of Dali. — Former exca-
vations of French archaeologists. — Identification of site of Dali
with that of Idalium. — Accidental discovery of a tomb. — Survey
of the fields. — An extensive necropolis beneath them. — Purchase
and lease of ground. — Arrival of the Firman. — Commencement
of diggings. — Description of tombs and their contents. — Two
tiers of tombs. — Charge of desecration of a Turkish cemetery. —
Arrival of the Pasha, and removal of the Cadi of Dali.
The great heat which prevails during the summer
months in Larnaca, notwithstanding the land and sea
breezes which at times mitigate it to some extent,
renders the city during this period almost uninhabitable
by Europeans ; and they, as well as the natives whose
means permit, escape to some shady spot in the interior
till the end of September.
Shortly after my affair with the local Government,
the death of a dear relative called me to Italy, and on
returning in the autumn, I found that my wife and
children had suffered intensely from the heat. I there-
fore determined to seek some suitable residence in the
country, which might serve as a refuge during these
trying months. On the occasion of a visit to Nicosia,
the capital of the island, I had passed a night in the
village of Dali, which is about half-way between Nicosia
and Larnaca, and remarked on its outskirts a grove of
lemon and orange trees, amid which nestled a small
white cottage, connected with several outbuildings. I
62 CYPRUS. [Chap. II.
brought my wife to visit this spot, and we decided that
it might be converted into a pleasant retreat, and soon
induced the proprietor to cede it to us for a small
remuneration, during the hot season. This he did the
more readily as the peasants live almost entirely out-of-
doors from June till September, it rarely ever happening
that a drop of dew, and almost never a drop of rain,
falls during these months. They place their beds
under the trees, making the branches of the latter do
duty as clothes-press, larder, and pantry. They will
frequently throw a handkerchief upon the ground, and
lay their infants to sleep upon it, satisfied that neither
moisture nor creeping thing will harm the child, for
Dali is wonderfully free from noxious reptiles. Another
reason, which had great weight in my selection of Dali
as a temporary residence, was the fact that an old
Greek peasant, called Hadji Jorghi, had brought me
from time to time fragments of sculptures from this
village, which greatly interested me.
This simple abode became our summer-resort for
several years. It was surrounded by about six acres of
ground, laid out in alleys of lemon and orange trees,
and the favourite caishk,^' from the blossoms of which
exhaled a delightful perfume. Two noble walnut-trees
overshadowed the immemorial alakati;^ and extended
their shade to our out-of-door salon, where we sat the
day long, reading, writing, and chatting, with the grate-
ful breeze at all hours coming through the long verdant
alleys hung with luscious fruit. A small rivulet of the
purest water found its way from cold sources to the feet
of these walnut-trees, the broad leafy branches of which
formed the ceiling of our drawing-room, and being
blocked by a pile of rude stones, over which it tumbled.
* A delicious species of nectarine,
f The oriental or common well.
Chap, II.] DALI (IDALIUM). 63
in cascade fashion, into a basin scooped out to receive
it, served as wine-cooler and refrigerator. We soon
adopted the housekeeping system of the peasants, and
hung our plate-baskets and table linen among the
trees ; and spreading out the thick mats of the country,
with a wooden settle dining table and some rough
chairs, we soon arranged a dining hall, where our
Turkish attendants served us with as much attention
as if at a state dinner, though not with quite the same
ceremony.
A tent pitched near by became a boudoir for my
wife and infant daughters, whom she regularly in-
structed in English ; and, a little further on, a few
Turkish rugs and divans formed the reception-room
of state for the notables of Dali, consisting of an
old Cadi, three wealthy Turks of Potamia, inhabit-
ing what was once a royal palace and the summer
residence of the Lusignan Queens, and an illiterate
Greek priest.
Dali is built on the western bank of a branch of the
ancient river Pedeus, now a mere winter torrent, in the
centre of a by no means extensive but very picturesque
plain. A triple range of hills almost encircles it, and
shelters it from the excessive heat of summer. It would
seem, from the great number of tombs I discovered,
that the ancient Ida Hum had been of greater extent
than would be supposed from the existing literary
records in which it is mentioned almost exclusively,
on account of its Temple of Venus and delightful
grove. Virgil (iEneid, i. 6gi) makes Venus convey
Ascanius to the Idalian fields, with their sweet scents
and pleasant shade. Adonis was slain while hunting
on the Idalian hills. The town itself is said by Pliny
to have been small, but that may apply only to its
condition in his time. Its foundation was ascribed
to a King Chalcanor, with which event was coupled a
64 CYPRUS. [Chap. II.
fanciful derivation of the name Idalion from eiBov akiov
{ri\ioi/)j the story being that Chalcanor had been di-
rected by an oracle to found a town on the spot where
he should first see the sun rise.
It was Count de Vogue, I believe, who identified
Dali as the site of the Phoenician city Idalium, during
his explorations in Cyprus in 1862. These excavations
were afterwards continued by the French Consul at
Cyprus, and Mr. Peretie, a well-known numismatist of
Beirut, in company with a native called Cesare Mattei,
of Larnaca, on a small scale and with but indifferent
success. Count de Vogue, in a letter addressed to M.
Ernest Renan, which afterwards appeared in the French
** Revue Arch6ologique'* of October, 1862, declared that
nothing more could be found at Dali. Happily, neither
Mr. Lang nor I accepted seriously these hasty conclu-
sions, otherwise much valuable archaeological informa-
tion concerning the island, brought to light by Mr.
Lang from a temple, and*by me from some 15,000 tombs,
might have remained still buried.
The day following our installation at Dali, I visited
the spot where the peasant, Hadji Jorghi, had found the
sculptured remains of which I have spoken, and I per-
ceived that he had merely extracted them from a mound
of debris, accumulated by former excavations, and that
nothing more was to be found there. I then rode on,
and inspected an ancient tomb, opened a year before by
some of the villagers in search of building stones.
They had extracted from it some little terra-cotta vases,
which they had given their children to play with, leav-
ing within the tomb two others of considerable size, lest
their removal should come to the knowledge of the
Cadi, and they be imprisoned as a punishment. As I
wished to see these vases, I had the earth removed a
second time, which was easily done, the tomb being on
the slope of a low hill, and only three feet four inches
Chap. II.] FIRMAN TO EXCAVATE AT DALl ilDALIU.M)- 65
deep. I entered it, and found two large vases, of an
archaic form, such as I had not seen before. I was
assured that this tomb when
discovered was filled to the top
with earth. The former position
of these vases I was unable to
ascertain, as they had been pre-
viously overturned and displaced.
After two weeks spent in care-
fully surveying in every direction
the fields surrounding Dali, I
became thoroughly convinced
that an extensive necropolis lay
on the south and west of it, pro- ''^""'^'' ^^'j ^^l^T ^'''
bably the ancient burying-ground
of Idalium, the tombs of which had never before been
disturbed. I therefore leased about thirty acres of this
land, and in these arrangements was greatly assisted by
Mr, Cosma, a notable of the place, and for many years
dragoman of the Dutch Consulate in Cyprus. I then
addressed myself to our Minister, the Hon. Edward
Joy Morris, at Constantinople, explaining to him my
belief in an important discovery, and the desire I had
of thoroughly investigating it. He kindly used the
great influence he possessed with the Porte, and ob-
tained for me the necessary firman authorising me to
pursue my archxological researches in the island, and
this he had renewed at the expiration of each year as
long as he remained at Constantinople.
It has been mv good fortune, during the eleven years
of my consular residence in Cyprus, to meet, in our
representatives at the Porte, gentlemen of high culture
and classical education, who understood and appre-
ciated my work, and most cheerfully lent me all their
moral and official support, without which my explo-
rations could never have been so extensive nor so
66 CYPRUS. [CHAP. II.
successful. To my excellent friend, the Hon. George
H. Boker, I have in a special manner to render
my thanks for the many favours I received from him
while he was American Minister at Constantinople.
More than once, as he jocularly wrote me, he was
obliged to "pinch the tail of the American eagle," in
order to force the Turks to do what I required. Once,
in sending me a renewal of my firman, and being aware
of the extent of my excavations, he wrote me as follows:
— " I see, dear General, that you intend sinking the
island one of these days, with all the holes you are
boring everywhere ; pray, before doing so, save, at
least, the archives of the American Consulate."
I commenced my explorations in the field which con-
tained the tomb before referred to. This field sloped
gently towards the village from a mastoid or breast-
shaped hill, upon which, years ago, was found a bronze
tablet engraved on both sides with Cypriote characters.
This monument, of very great importance to philology',
was purchased by the Duke de Luynes, and bequeathed
by him to the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris.
The field I mention is situated some two hundred
yards west of Dali. The depth of the tombs averaged
from 5 to 8 feet only ; and they were all of one shape,
that is, a hemispherical cavity cut horizontally in the
earth, and measuring about 8 feet in diameter. Mois-
tened clay mixed with triturated straw was used to
consolidate the walls and roof of the cavity, so as to
keep the earth from falling in. A platform made of
Chap. II.] TOMBS AT DAI.I (IDALIUM). 67
sun-dried bricks, i^ foot high, was then built around
its inner base. The width in no case exceeded the
height. Upon the platform the dead were laid, with
the head always towards the entrance. These oven-
shaped tombs were made to contain in most cases
three bodies, yet in many of them the remains of two
only were remarked, one on the right and the other
on the left of the doorway. When the latter was the
case, the funeral vases and other mortuary objects
composing the furniture of the tomb, were invariably
found placed upon the unoccupied portion of the plat-
form which faced the door ; but when the three spaces
were occupied, the objects were deposited on the ground
towards the head of each body. In some few instances
a reversed earthenware plate was found placed under
the head, serving as a pillow to the dead. As may
readily be conceived, tombs such as these, made of
nothing but earth, were not very substantial, and in
many instances were found caved in, with all the con-
68 CYPRUS. [Chap. II.
tents broken. Yet a very large number remained
intact, though all the tombs were filled to within a few
inches of their roof with fine earth which had perco-
lated through their porous walls. To this earth is due
the wonderful preservation of the vases, because having
filtered gradually through, it filled and surrounded,
little by little, the mortuary objects within ; so that,
after many years, the contents of these tombs became,
as it were, tightly packed up and preserved in almost
as perfect a condition as when they were first interred.
At the end of the summer I had opened several
hundred tombs ; they were all of the same character,
and, in my opinion, Phcenician. I observed often, that
the farther we advanced towards the hill, the deeper
lay the tombs ; consequently the slope could not have
existed when this field was used as a burying ground.
Up to this time, 1 had found nothing which seemed to
me to be purely Greek.
The vases, of every variety
of form, were of a pale
cream colour, ornamented
generally with concentric
circles and other geome-
tric designs, painted in a
brownish colour, probably
made with "terra d'umber,"
which is found in great
^'■"'rn^'hrd>y'''''H.'''i*i'(iul''i'",,I"'"'''" abundance in Cyprus; this
colour resisted even the
effect of muriatic acid diluted in water, thus showing
that the colour had been applied before the vessel was
baked.
One morning, while the work was progressing, in-
stead of finding the tombs at the depth of nine and
ten feet, as before, we met them at about 3^ feet
only ; and, to my surprise, though their shape and
i FROM DAIJ.
VASES KBOM l>:
\ J
GLASS VASES FROM DALl.
t
Chap. II,] TO.MUS AT DALI (IDALIUM). 75
size did not vary from the others, their contents were
entirely different. There were no more earthenware
vases, but glass objects with a beautiful iridescence,
the result of their decay. Some were in the form of
amphorBe, lecythi, plates, bowls, rings, bracelets, amulets,
beads, etc.
There were also a few gold ornaments, such as
earrings in the form of a segment of fruit (?) or of a
crescent shape, and leaves of gold which had served as
mortuary diadems. In a few instances, fragments of
these diadems were found still adhering to the broken
skulls.
There was always one, and sometimes several terra-
cotta lamps. Some of them without doubt were im-
ported from Italy ; as not only was the clay of which
they were made similar to that of lamps found in
Rome, but some of them had the potter's name, Favsti,
stamped on the back; the greatest number, however,
were made in the island, and probably in Dali ; on
some of these occurred Greek names, evidently scratched
in after the lamps had been baked.
For more than three weeks I continued to find only
this sort of tomb, with a repetition of the same mortuary
objects, clearly indicating the GrEeco-Roman period.
76 CYPRUS. [Chap. II.
This change was at first incomprehensible. It was
true that Idalium possessed, at a later period, a mixed
population, and the evidence of the burying- grounds of
two different races was very apparent, yet their close
proximity was unusual, and for some time unaccountable
to me ; but studying the vases, the terra-cotta idols,
etc., in the former tombs, and comparing them with the
objects of the latter, I became convinced that the two
necropoles had not and could not have been in use at
the same period. The terra-cotta vases and the little
images of Venus, some of which are like those seen
Tccn.c«u Lamps. Roman P«
upon Babylonian cylinders, representing Mylitta, were
undoubtedly many centuries earlier than the glassware
found in the other tombs. It occurred to me that as
the slope was evidently posterior to the Phoenician
tombs, I might perhaps find the continuation of them
beneath the others, and I was not mistaken. We
retraced our steps to the spot where the first Grseco-
Roman tombs had appeared, and at 2^ feet beneath
them we found the uninterrupted line of the Phoenician
tombs.
Another difficulty now presented itself; the doors of
the tombs below very seldom coincided with those
above, and often faced in the opposite direction. Much
time and labour was therefore lost in demolishing the
tomb above, in order to get at the one beneath. The
Chap. II] CONTENTS OF TOMBS AT DALI (IDALIUM). 77
Phcenician tombs were found less filled up with earth,
and in some instances the position in which the bodies
had lain upon the platform was ascertained.
In one of these tombs I discovered the remains of
three skeletons, consisting of the skulls and thigh-bones.
Two of the skulls were in good preservation, but in
removing them one was crushed through the careless-
ness of the workmen who held it. The other is now
in the Royal Academy of Medicine in Turin, with
several more which I presented to that institution.
The following objects were found standing on the
78 CYPRUS. [Chap. II.
ground and near the platforms : two large vases
(2 feet 6 inches high), ornamented with concentric
circles and an undulating line round the neck ; two
small vases, mostly with this same form of ornament,
but made of a very fine red clay ; four terra-cotta whorls
without any trace of design.
In the centre of this tomb I remarked for the first
time a small quadrangular cavity excavated in the floor
opposite the doorway. This cavity was covered by a
sun-dried brick, on removing which the following
objects were found within : —
A hatchet and a spear-head in copper, and a circular
copper bowl 5]^ inches in diameter, and 2f inches high.
This bowl has previously been engraved and described
by Mr. Georges Colonna Ceccaldi (Revue Arch^olo-
gique, xxiv., 1872, pi. 24), who thinks that the enthroned
goddess before whom the dance is proceeding may be
Isis. He is led to this conclusion chiefly by the lotus
flower which she holds in her hand. The dancers
appear to be all women, not alternately men and
women, as in the ** chorus" on the shield of Achilles
(Iliad, xviii., 593 fol.), which Hephaestus imitated from
the ** chorus" made by Daedalus for Ariadne in Crete,
or in the archaic representation of a dance on the
celebrated Fran9ois vase (Monumenti delP Inst. Arch.
Rom. iv.). It is therefore probable that the goddess
here represented was one the conduct of whose rites
and ceremonies devolved upon women. Cyprus en-
joyed a high reputation from very early times for
musical skill both with the flute and the lyre, and there
can be little doubt that this skill had been attained
and developed chiefly through religious practice such
as that illustrated in this bowl. The vases represented
on a table in advance of the dancers are ornamented
with the designs peculiar to the very archaic pottery
found at Idalium and elsewhere, not only in Cyprus,
Chap. II.] CHARGE OF DESECRATION. 79
but in other Greek islands, in the mainland of Greece
and in Italy. The bronze bowl may therefore be taken
as contemporary with this form of decoration in pottery.
It is to be noticed that while the figures of the dancers,
the musicians, and the goddess are rudely rendered, the
purely decorative patterns are produced with the skill
oT a workman well accustomed to them. This decora-
tive faculty is also shown in the disposition and
grouping of the figures, and it may here be remarked
that this bowl has altogether less of a Phcenician and
more of an early Greek character than the Phcenician
bowls of silver, silver-gilt, and gold found elsewhere in
Cyprus, to which there will afterwards be occasion to
refer more particularly.
Thus far I had no annoyance from the Turkish
authorities at Dali, though I was aware that the
Hodja and Cadi were secretly opposed to my diggings.
The latter wrote to the Governor-General of the island
that if this sort of work was not soon stopped, all the
fields about the village would be made barren, and the
Ottoman Government would get no more revenue from
them. The Hodja in his mosque said to his brethren
that no Mussulman who should work for me would be
rewarded in the other world with the ever beautiful
houris. But this did not trouble me in the least, and
had only the effect of keeping the Mussulmans from the
diggings for a short time. I knew that the Governor-
General, Said Pasha, had strongly recommended the
Cadi of Dali not to interfere with my excavations,
saying, he did not care to be involved in any difficulty
with me.
In addition to the large number of men whom I daily
employed at regular wages, others dug without permis-
sion from me, on their kismet as they termed it. One day
as a party of these independent diggers were returning
from their work, carrying two baskets and a large vase,
8o CYPRUS. [Chap. II.
they were encountered by the Cadi, who, in company
with the Hodja, was coming from the mosque, the
day being Friday. It happened that these diggers were
all Greeks. The Cadi stopped them, and enquired
what they had in those baskets .? One of them replied,
** Human skulls for the American Consul.'* ** Human
skulls ! Allah ! '' ejaculated the Hodja. The Cadi was
horrified. The men being unable to prove that they
were regularly in my service were immediately arrested,
and the skulls were seized and sent to the Governor-
General, as a proof that I was encouraging by rewards
of money the Christian population of Dali to desecrate
the sepulchres of the faithful ! I knew nothing of what
had happened, and the next day was surprised to hear
that Said Pasha had arrived in Dali, and wished to see
me at once. I sent word to the Pasha that I was slightly
indisposed, but that if his Excellency had any com-
munications to make to me, I should be happy to
receive him at my house. He seemed to have antici-
pated my answer, as my messenger found him ready to
mount a steed in waiting at the door. Twenty minutes
later my cavass announced the coming of the Governor-
General, whom I soon perceived with his usual nume-
rous retinue, accompanied by the old Cadi and Hodja,
winding their way up one of the alleys towards my
drawing-room al fresco.
I was not long in learning the object of his visit to
me, and heartily laughed at the mistake (real or
assumed) made by his co-religionists. Said Pasha,
being an intelligent Turk, after hearing from me that
these skulls were taken from ancient burying-grounds
of people buried long before the Turkish nation and
Mohammed existed, joined heartily in my laugh, and
took leave of me in a very cordial manner. I after-
wards heard that he severely reprimanded the Cadi
and the Hodja for having endeavoured to create a
Chap. II.] TOMBS AT DALl (IDALIUM). 8l
disturbance which might have had the worst of con-
sequences.
The intriguing old Cadi, on my recommendation,
was immediately removed from Dali, and a small sum
of money which I gave to the Hodja for the repairs of
his mosque, made him my fast friend for ever.
CHAPTER III.
Several Consuls obtain Firmans to excavate. — Lively competition. —
Mr. Lang discovers statues and bilingual inscription. — Patriarchal
custom among Cypriote peasants. — Hadji Jorghi. — His imprison-
ment and sad death. — Rock-cut tombs at Alambra, with their
peculiar pottery. — Clay figures believed by some to be children's
toys. — Hills of Ambelliri — Famous bronze tablet of the Duke de
Luynes. — Village of Potamia. — Discovery of temple and tombs. —
Several small cemeteries discovered east of Dali.
These discoveries very soon attracted the serious
attention of some of my colleagues at Larnaca, who
now began to purchase antiquities of the ** independent
diggers " at a very high valuation, and thus a lively
competition was created. The French Consul, Mr. T.
Colonna Ceccaldi, also applied for and obtained a
firman to excavate, but the most serious competitor I
had was Mr. Lang, the director or manager of a branch
of the Imperial Ottoman Bank at Larnaca, who was
afterwards appointed British Consul for Cyprus. The
inhabitants of Cyprus owe much to Mr. Lang for the
establishment of this bank in the island, of which he
was the sole promoter, and which proved, as long as he
remained the director of it, a great success. It was
through Mr. Lang also that the aqueduct, built by an
exiled Pacha, was repaired, and the water led in pipes
through the city, so that all who wished might avail
themselves of an abundant supply of pure water. Mr.
Lang had the rare talent of making friends of all with
Chap. HI.] HADJI JORGHI. 8j
whom he came in contact, and when he subsequently
left the island his loss was universally regretted. The
villagers of Dali and of the neighbouring towns like-
wise became infected with the fever of digging, and both
Greeks and Turks began to work in the employ of either
one or other of my colleagues. This, however, did
not last very long. My friend Ceccaldi was summoned
soon -afterwards to Constantinople, to assist the French
Ambassador in receiving the Empress Eugenie, and he
never returned to Cyprus. Mr. Lang, in spite of his
banking occupations, still continued to interest himself
in excavations, and was rewarded at last by the dis-
covery of a temple, among the debris of which, besides
other important objects, he discovered the precious
bilingual inscription, in Phcenician and Cypriote cha-
racters, to which modern philologists have been in-
debted for the decipherment of the Cypriote dialect.
By the end of my third year's explorations at Dali, I
had opened some ten thousand tombs, and had col-
lected from them an immense number of vases and
other sepulchral objects of much historical interest.*
At harvest-time in Cyprus it is difficult to obtain
manual labour for other than agricultural purposes,
and consequently during this time my diggings were
kept up on a small scale only. Among the peasants of
Dali there is a patriarchal custom which I must not
omit to mention, and which I found widely spread else-
where in the island. It is this : when a man becomes
* I have seen stated in a paper read before the Society of Anti-
quaries in London, that west of Dali there were several burying-grounds
instead of only one. Mr. Sandwith, who asserts this, has never under-
taken any extensive excavations there or elsewhere in Cyprus, and it is
quite natural that he should have fallen into such a mistake. I dug
there from 1867 till the end of 1875 at different intervals, and ascer-
tained that the fields west of Dali, though now and then there are a few
yards without tombs, represent only one extensive burying-ground.
c 2
84 CYPRUS. [Chap. III.
too old to work in the fields, and has sons able to
replace him, he voluntarily despoils himself, sometimes
of his whole fortune, in order to endow them. I know
personally a respectable old man who has four sons
and two daughters, to the latter of whom he gave each
a small house and garden on their marriage day, and
the rest of his property he divided equally among his
sons, retaining absolutely nothing for himself. He
now lives upon the bounty of one of these sons. It not
unfrequently happens, however, that the son ill-treats
his aged father, who, after having passed the greater
part of his life in easy circumstances, becomes in his
latter days a beggar. A painful instance of this was
that of old Hadji Jorghi, the pioneer digger of Dali,
who had in like manner dispossessed himself of all
his property in favour of his sons, and supported
himself by digging. To add to this he had also, in an
evil hour, become guarantee in a money transaction for
some of his relatives ; according to Turkish law, if the
debtor fails to pay, the guarantor is compelled either to
pay or to be thrown into prison, and this fate befell the
impoverished Hadji Jorghi. He was arrested by the
Cadi of Dali, and, old as he was, marched on foot to
Larnaca, some fifteen miles distant, and there kept
confined for nearly two months. He languished in
prison uncared for until the government medical officer
declared that if longer detained he would die. The
poor old man, released from confinement, returned
slowly to his native village. I chanced to meet him
on the road, seated upon a stone, fatigued, hungry, and
broken down by grief. I felt greatly moved by his
distress ; but money could not have relieved him. On
the day after his arrival in Dali he got up and slowly
tottered towards his favourite tombs to pay them a
visit ; not returning to his home that evening a search
was made for him the next day ; and he was found
BkONZES (■■RUM I
Chap. III.] HADJI JORGHI. 87
crouched in one of the excavated tombs, his knees
drawn up, his eyes fixed, a pipe in his mouth, from
which no smoke issued nor would ever be made to
issue again by those pale cold lips. Poor Hadji Jorghi
had gone to join that vast procession whose tombs he
had helped to explore, far beyond the reach of Turkish
injustice or filial ingratitude.
Twenty minutes' ride west of Dali lies the small
village of Alambra, situated on the rocky slope of a hill
which commands a beautiful view of the plain below.
In former rambles I had remarked a curiously-shaped
mound facing the village, and separated from it only by
a craggy ravine worn by a winter torrent. Making
inquiries of the peasantry concerning this mound, I
learned that some twenty years ago a tomb cut deeply
into the rock had accidentally been opened there ; of
course, the usual fable was appended of the finding of
much gold therein. I hired some labourers, and started
to explore the place. It proved to be a mass of rotten
limestone, the portion most exposed to the heat of
the sun being cracked and crumbling into dust. I
soon ascertained that its slopes contained a number of
tombs, similar in size and form to those of Dali, except
that they were cut in the rock.
The top of the hill was strewn with stones and
broken pottery, clearly indicating the site of a large
building. I discovered eighty-two tombs there, which
I opened at different times between the years 1868 and
1874. These tombs interested me very much, as I
consider them among the most ancient of Cyprus.
They posscvssed also this point of importance, that
besides a peculiar class of terra-cotta vases, which I
have never met with in my explorations anywhere else,
each of them contained a copper object and one of those
little earthenware figurines, which some distinguished
archaeologists think are children's toys, an opinion in
COPPER SrEAR-HE*DS AND TOOLS FkOM AI.AMHI
IF.RRA-COITA FIGURES.
i IKOM ALAMIIMA.
Chap. III.] TOMBS AT ALAMBRA. 93
which I cannot concur. The objects in copper were
spear-heads, daggers, knives, hatchets, tools, mirrors,
needles, and circular bowls.
The statuettes were rudely made images of the
Cyprian Venus, in the earliest style of art, horsemen,
warriors with shields, and chariots containing men and
women. The tombs which contained a terra-cotta
horseman, invariably contained one or two spear-heads
from seven to ten inches in length ; those having a
knife, dagger, or hatchet, were accompanied by the
figure of a foot soldier with a shield, the right arm
being elevated as in the act of throwing a javelin.
The tombs having chariots with movable wheels but no
horses, contained artisans' tools and bowls ; while in
those where a little image of Venus appeared, were
found always a mirror and long hair-pins and needles.
I was personally present at the opening of all these
tombs, and can positively state, that in no instance
were the remains of children found in any of them. On
the contrary, skulls were exhumed from them rather
larger than those of Dali, and believed to have belonged
to another race. Such was the opinion of scientific
specialists who examined them, and it is also that of
the director of the Anthropological Museum at Turin,
where these skulls now are. My argument therefore is
that these figurines were not toys, but were placed
inside the tomb to indicate the profession or the sex of
the person buried. These rock-cut tombs, though as
large as those at Dali, contained each only one body.
This mound, perfectly adapted by its nature to the
kind of defensive warfare existing in ancient times, very
probably was crowned by a fort or castle, garrisoned
by foreign troops, possibly in the pay of the King of
Idalium ; as here, very likely, was the frontier dividing
this small kingdom from its neighbour. Supposing this
conjecture to be correct, the tombs on the slopes could
94 CYPRUS. [Chap. III.
be none other than the tombs of these soldiers and of
the persons accompanying them. The warlike instru-
ments found with an appropriate figurine would denote
the tomb either of a cavalryman or of a foot soldier.
The lance suits the profession of the horseman, the
knife and hatchet (battle-axe) that of the foot soldier,
while the articles of feminine use, accompanied with
the statuette of Venus, would indicate the tomb of a
woman. The chariot^ and artisans' tools would be-
speak the charioteers and other followers of a military
camp. In one of these tombs I found the following
terra-cotta objects, placed in the order of a procession.
The first figure is that of a horseman carrying two large
jars, probably containing wine ; he is followed by a
donkey with panniers ; then follows a chariot with
a player on the double-pipe, and two men or women
singing; the chariot that comes next contains a man
with something looking like a large sword ; then fol-
lows a chariot with a woman reclining on a pillow ; the
last chariot has a man, probably representing the chief
personage of the procession.
The vases found in these tombs were of two kinds.
One was of a coarse reddish clay, incompletely baked,
and in the form of large bowls, some of which measured
2^ feet in diameter, and had holes for suspension, near
the rim ; and some were in the form of ladles of differ-
ent sizes, with cuts on the handles evidently numerical,
also a few jugs with one handle.
The other vases were of a bright red or black
varnished ware of globular form, like an aryballos, but
with long narrow necks, a few of them having three
legs. With them was found a large number of terra-
cotta whorls of the same kind of ware. The decoration
on these vases consists of zigzag lines and other simple
geometric patterns incised deeply in the clay, and
afterwards filled in with a white substance, probably
CHAP, III.] TOMBS AT ALAMHRA. 95
plaster. Two fragments of this ware were found by
Mr. Schliemann in his Trojan excavations (engraved,
" Troy and its Remains," p. 135), and there seems to be
little doubt of the great antiquity of this class of pottery.
An entire vase of the same kind is engraved in Mr.
Lang's paper (Transactions Roy. Soc. Lit. xi., pt. i,
New Series, p. 35). Another fine specimen exists in
the British Museum, where also in the collection of
Cyprus pottery are several small vases with incised
geometric patterns and of the same class, but some of
them do not appear to be glazed.
About a dozen of these vases were purloined by my
workmen, and found their way to European dealers in
antiquities, and thence to several of the museums on
the Continent. The rest, several hundred in number,
are all in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York, with the exception of a few which went to the
bottom of the sea near Beirut in company with a rich
collection of gold and silver coins, cylinders, and some
sixty cases of other antiquities which I had shipped for
96 CYPRUS. [Chap. III.
New York on board an ill-fated Austrian ship, which
took fire and sunk 50 miles off the coast of Syria.
Although I had been more particularly engaged in
the exploration of the tombs of Idalium, yet I also made
numerous researches for the site of its Temple of Venus,
but utterly failed to discover any traces of it, either upon
or beneath the surface of the soil. I examined the whole
plain on both sides of the river, as well as the first range
of hills encircling Dali, but especially the two breast-
shaped hills west of the village,* between which lay
the road leading to Alambra and other villages. I
believe that these two hills had in remote times formed
one. They are in a line, and so very near each other
that the gap between them forms a kind of gateway,
leading from the plain of Dali to the valley west of it,
which the natives call "Paradision." If this communi-
cation was opened by the Greek population of Idalium,
as is my belief, it would satisfactorily explain the forma-
tion of the artificial slope of this hill, in which I dis-
covered the Graeco-Roman tombs I alluded to before.
louncls are called by the inhabitants of Dali, Ambellir
Chap. III.] TOMBS NEAR DALI. 97
The bronze tablet of the Duke de Luynes was, I
am told, found on the crest of the hill which stands
on the right hand of the traveller going from Dali
to Alambra. I had a great many borings made at
different places, both on the top and the slopes of
it, but invariably met the solid calcareous rock a
few feet from the surface, and in fact, if what now
appears to be vegetable earth is more attentively
examined, it will be found to be nothing else than
rotten limestone almost pulverised, and this accounts
for the barren appearance of the hill. How the
bronze tablet could have been found on the top of this
eminence, will always remain to me an inexplicable
mystery.
At the foot of the other hill, Mr. Lang discovered, as
I have already said, the ruins of a Temple, but of too
small dimensions to be identified in my opinion as the
one sung of by ancient poets. On the summit of this
hill once stood a quadrangular edifice, apparently con-
structed entirely of stone, the foundations of which
reached deeply into its centre ; they had been tho-
roughly explored and laid bare by former excavations.
There are still visible traces of a paved pathway leading
to the ruins of this building. From its commanding
position it seems to have been a castle or a military fort ;
I was assured by the natives that some years previous
to my arrival in the island, they extracted from these
ruins a large quantity of bronze fragments of helmets,
swords, spear-heads, etc., enough to make a cart-load.
The Turkish authorities at Dali took possession of these
objects, and forwarded them to the Governor-General
of the island, who in all probability sold them for old
metal to some copper-smith at Nicosia. With the melt-
ing-pot they would soon be transformed into kettles
and casseroles. I was unable to find out from the
Turkish commander of the citadel what had become of
H
Cj8 CYi'RUS. [Chap. ill.
them, though he perfectly remembered their arrival in
Nicosia.
In a field south of Dali, and twenty minutes' walk
from it, I discovered several stone pedestals and frag-
ments of statues at a depth of two feet from the surface.
It is most probable that a temple once existed on that
spot, but I was unable to explore the
place, as the Turkish owner of it, a
certain Mehemet Effendi Potamialick,
declined to lease me the field for that
purpose, or to grant me permission
to excavate. In its immediate vicinity
there is a road leading from Dali to
a little cluster of huts called Pota-
mia,* and on the edge of this road I
discovered several tombs like those of
" "" "" ■ the oldest period of Idalium. Doubt-
less this cemetery, though small, extended into the pro-
perty of Mehemet Effendi, but for the reason just stated
I could not examine or ascertain its extent.
* Potamia was a royal residence of the Liisignan dynasty, and
inhabited by Catherine Cornaro. It was fortified, and when the
Venetians took possession of the island it was dismantled by order
of the Venetian Senator, and Governor-General of the Island, Fran-
cesco Pfioli, together with the other royal castles of Saint Hilarion,
Buffavento, I)io d"Amore, Cava, and Kantara. The Palace of Potamia
now belongs to three noL-ible Turks. In returning their visit I was
sen-ed colTec and sweetmeat as is the custom in the East, and to
my surprise I remarked that the silver tea-spoon I used had the lion of
St. Mark and a royal crown engraved upon it. I asked Mehemet
EfTendi if he would part with that and the other sjjoons which I sup-
posed he possessed, but he declined, though as a Turkish compliment
he offered me as a present the spoon I had used, which of course I
declined. I had heard rumoured that in digging in their garden these
three Turks had found an iron coffer with gold and silver objects.
That tea-spoon might have belonged to the treasure. I repeated my
visits there at other times, but the tea-spoons with the royal crown had
disappeared.
VASES IN FORM
Chap. III.] ARCHAIC POTTERY. jqI
On the eastern side of the river Pedeus I discovered
as many as five different ancient burying-grounds, all
containing terra-cotta vases like those of the Phcenician
Idalium, to which town they appear to have belonged,
as I met with no traces of foundations of buildings or
broken pottery or such other indications as to lead
me to believe that there had been ancient habitations
there.
Farther to the south-east of these cemeteries there is
a curiously shaped mound in the form of a sugar-loaf,
which attracted my attention. I dug there, and though
on its summit there are no indications of buildings, I
discovered on its slopes several tombs deeply excavated
in the calcareous rock, and made to contain a single
body.
In one of them I found two bowls of a green glazed
terra-cotta, decorated inside with Egyptian representa-
tions painted in black, and a curiously shaped vase
representing a female figure with movable terra-cotta
earrings ; the stopper, also of earthenware, represented
a crown, which, when placed on the aperture at the
top of the head, completes the figure. The figure was
seated on an earthenware chair. This curious vase
holds a quart of water. The other tombs contained
vases in form of quadrupeds, and aquatic birds, some
highly ornamented with geometric patterns, also round-
I02 CYPRUS. [Chap, III.
bottomed vases with long necks, whorls and tripods in
serpentine and in terra-cotta. Some of these vases are
identical in character with those found by Dr. Schliemann
in his excavations at Hissariik. These tombs are in my
opinion among the oldest found at Idalium.
^^^
rF.URACOlTA VASES, KKOM DALI.
CHAPTER IV.
ATHIENO (GOLGOI).
Athieno a town of muleteers. — Identified by M. de Vogu^ as the site
of Golgoi. — Sketch of Golgoi. — Cypriote mode of travelling. —
Unsuccessful explorations in 1867. — Discovery of a necropolis
east of Golgoi. — An important sarcophagus and other sepulchral
monuments discovered there. — Two men sent to dig in 1870. —
Aghios Photios. — Discovery of colossal head and other sculptures.
— Excitement of villagers. — Scene of Confusion at night
Not far from the conical mound mentioned in the
preceding chapter, and in a north-easterly direction,
runs a pathway, which after traversing several fields,
leads into the road from Dali to Athieno (Golgoi).
The latter is a village of considerable size, having some
pretensions to be called a town. Most of its houses
are built of stone, and being whitewashed on the out-
side, have an appearance of neatness which is not
belied on entering, and which bespeaks the com-
paratively wealthy condition of the owners.
The ancient Golgoi is reckoned by Pliny among the
fifteen towns of importance in Cyprus, but otherwise
there is little reason to suppose that it had ever been a
large place. To judge from the usual notices of it in
ancient writers, it would seem that it had derived what
fame it had from its being a prominent centre of the
worship of Aphrodite,* who derived her title of Golgia
♦ Catullus, Nuptials of Peleus and Thetis, v. 96, and epig. 37 ; Theo-
critus, Id. XV. 100, who calls it Golgos, but the plural form is the usual
one. Stephanus Byz. says it was also called Golgion.
I06 CYI'RUS. [CiiAP, IV.
from it. The ti>wn is said (Stephanus, s. v. ToXyo?) to
have been founded by a colony from Sicyon under the
leadership of one Golgos, from whom it took its name.
He is called a son of Aphrodite and Adonis. But while
there is no doubt about Golgoi having been celebrated
for its worship of Aphrodite, it is not clear from a
statement of Pausanias (viii. 5, 2), whether he does
not mean that Agapenor, in
establishing his colony at
Paphos, transferred to it the
worship of Aphrodite, which
before had existed in Golgoi.
If so, it would be singu-
lar how Golgoi could have
maintained its reputation as
a seat of her worship, after
the machinery of it had been
transferred to Paphos, which
also, having been originally a
Phoenician settlement, would
have had its temple in the ser-
vice of Aphrodite perhaps long
before the arrival of Agapenor
on his return from Troy.
The ride from Dali to
Athieno usually occupies
about an hour and a half,
s«.u.arAph™ii.|, holding E™..icr. though with a good animal I
have on several occasions
gone in less than an hour. The inhabitants of Athieno
are mostly muleteers by occupation, and own tolerably
good saddle mules trained to an easy amble which does
not fatigue the rider, and the animal goes faster at this
pace than at a trot. The usual trip made by these mule-
teers is from Nicosia to Larnaca, transporting travellers
and packages from one place to the other, Athieno
Chap. IV.] MULETEERS OF ATHIENO. I07
being midway between these two cities. They can be
hired to visit any part of Cyprus, being tolerably well
acquainted with all the roads and by-paths of the
island.
These muleteers are as a class excellent and trust-
worthy, even under the temptation of conveying large
sums of money from one* town to the other. In fact, I
never heard during my residence in Cyprus of a pro-
fessional muleteer who had proved unworthy of the
trust reposed in him. When a native is obliged to go
more than a day's journey on some business which is
not urgent, being naturally of a talkative disposition,
he prefers the society of a fellow traveller, and will
sometimes wait days to obtain a companion. Sup-
posing, however, that he must travel alone, and has a
journey of some six or, seven days to make, as for
instance from Larnaca to Carpas, the following would
be his arrangements. He would go to the khan, a
kind of inn at which the muleteers stop in Larnaca,
and there select a mule to his liking, bargain with the
owner of it for a lump sum for the entire trip, or at a
rate of so much per day. The latter mode is prefer-
able, for should the mule prove unsuitable, the traveller
would be at liberty to change it on the road if he found
a better. The former method, however, is generally
adopted by the natives for the sake of economy. He
appoints the hour at which he desires to start, and the
muleteer, as a rule, arrives at the traveller's house an
hour or two later. A kind of native saddle is placed on
the back of the mule, called ** stratouri," across which
are hung in such a manner as not to incommode the
traveller, two large canvas bags, which contain his
private effects and some lunch for the first day's
journey. Several coloured blankets or quilts, according
to the season, are then piled on the ** stratouri " to be
used as a bed at night.
Io8 CYPRUS. [Chap. IV.
The muleteer, who acts also as guide, is mounted
upon a small but strong donkey in the same fashion as
the traveller, and carries the extra baggage of the
latter, besides food for himself, provender for both
animals, and often several parcels entrusted for delivery
to his care.
At first it seemed to me cruel to see such little
animals so overloaded, but I became convinced in time
that the Cyprus donkey is stronger and resists the fatigue
of a long journey better than a mule. When everything
is in readiness for departure, the traveller is helped
to ascend to the top of his quilts, two rusty stirrups
attached to the extremities of a rope are handed him,
into which he introduces his feet. By sitting upon
the rope he is enabled to keep his equilibrium. Once
perched satisfactorily upon his quilts, he opens a yellow
cotton umbrella, lights his cigarette, receives the bless-
ings of his household, and starts upon his journey.
The Cypriotes are in general a frugal people, and when
travelling, can accommodate themselves to almost every
exigency. More than once during my excursions in the
island I have found, on entering some small village,
some wealthy merchant of my acquaintance seated
cross-legged on the threshold of a hut, with a straw
tray resembling the lid of a basket placed before him,
on which were a few black olives, a hard piece of
brown bread, and some sour milk, apparently enjoying
his repast. The customs of democracy prevail on these
occasions, and it is not uncommon to find the muleteer
seated opposite the merchant, eating from the same
dish and drinking from the same jug, a glass being
in the interior of the island considered a useless luxury.
Often also the urchins of the house, and the dogs and
fowls will come to pick up something from the
stranger's table. This mode of travelling is not very
agreeable to a European, and I did not adopt it. Being
Chap. IV.] SCULPTURES OF GOLGOI. lOQ
an old campaigner I soon comprehended what was
required to produce a certain degree of comfort, not,
however, without considerable cost.
In 1866 I went to visit some fields about half-a-mile
north-east of Athieno, which were strewn with stone
and plaster, and with portions of ancient masonry
protruding from the soil, treacherously inviting ex-
ploration, but found absolutely nothing except the
foundations of small houses not going deeper than two
feet below the surface. They did not appear to me to
be very ancient.
In 1867 I directed excavations a second time there
for several weeks, but with the exception of part of the
city wall, found nothing to encourage the continua-
tion of my researches. This spot is now called by the
natives "Aghios lorgos," but I could discover no
traces of any church in the vicinity. I was told that
this is the spot which M. De Vogu6 identified as the
site of the ancient city of Golgoi. East of it, near
a pathway leading from Athieno to Melussa, is an
ancient burying-ground which occupies several acres
in extent. Many of its tombs appear to have been
opened long ago. I found in several of them stone
sarcophagi broken in many pieces. It was here that
the French archaeologist found several sculptured re-
mains and one or two Cypriote inscriptions which are
now deposited in the Museum of the Louvre. From
some of these tombs I extracted various mortuary
stelae, with bas-reliefs of poor style and execution, and
having the figure of a lion in an attitude of repose. On
some of them there are two lions back to back, and
beneath is sculptured the " mihir '' or winged globe.
On two others there are sphinxes instead of lions, and
the '* mihir " is sometimes replaced by the crescent
with a disc in the centre. The style of execution of
the stelae surmounted by sphinxes is much finer than
no CYPRUS. [Chap. IV.
that of those with the lions ; even the stone on which
they are carved is of a better quahty.
The sarcophagus* given in the accompanying plate
was extracted from one of the tombs in this field, and
when found had one of its
sides broken. On one end
of it is represented a scene
from the myth of Perseus
and Medusa. The moment
chosen by the artist is
when Perseus has cut off
the Gorgon's head and
TQpofSepuichr.isttit:TwosphiBxa. malics off, havSng put it
into his wallet, so that the
sight of it might not turn him to stone, since that was
its peculiar property. At the same moment when the
head was cut off sprang from her neck the winged horse
Pegasus and Chrj'saor.
The decapitation of Medusa is a not unfrequent
subject in Greek art, and the manner of representing it
s published byCeccaldi in the "Revue Arch^ologique," 1875,
ii
11
u
id
Chap. IV.l SARCOPHAGUS FOUND AT GOLGOI. II3
varies considerably. In a fine terra-cotta relief in the
British Museum we see Chrysaor issuing from her neck,
while Perseus is already mounted on Pegasus ; and in a
gold ornament, also in the British Museum, will be
seen two Pegasi issuing from her neck, while again in
the celebrated metope of Selinus in Sicily, Medusa is
holding a small Pegasus to her side while Perseus is
drawing his knife across her throat, which is in fact an
attempt to give two stages of an incident in one repre-
sentation. What the dog which appears beside Perseus
on the sarcophagus may mean is not certain.*^ Possibly
it has some sepulchral signification. While the subject
of one end is mythological, those of the other end and of
the two sides are taken from daily life. On the other
end is a chariot drawn by two horses, which may be
compared with the chariots on the large sarcophagus
from Amathus (engraved, pi. xiv.-xv.). On one side is a
banquet scene, probably such as accompanied funeral
obsequies. A similar banquet occurs on the celebrated
terra-cotta sarcophagus from Cervetri in the British
Museum, and is found also on archaic painted vases, as
for instance in one from Cervetri in the Louvre (Long-
p6rier, Musee Napoleon III., pi. 71) on which are also
chariot races such as were held at funeral ceremonies
in early times. It will be noticed also that a dog is
tied up to the banquet couches on this vase. The
remaining side of the sarcophagus seems to be the
most important one, and if that is so, it would have
formed the front. The spectacle which it presents of
warriors in full armour hunting a Carian bull and a
boar seems to be absurd and to require some explana-
tion, though no doubt we do find Greek heroes, when
hunting the Calydonian boar, armed as in war. Take
♦ The figure of a dog, engraved on the following page, was found in
the same tomb, along with two stelae, engraved p. 96.
I
114 CYPRUS. [CHAP. IV.
away the bull or the boar, and there remains .a
group of two warriors in the attitude of attacking
each other, with which we are familiar in the sculp-
tures of the pediment of the temple at ^Egina, and in
numerous painted vases where the design appears to
have been originally derived from the composition of
pediment sculptures in which the figures lean from
each side towards the centre. It is not improbable
that the sculptor of the sarcophagus also took his
design from the evenly balanced groups of warriors in
the centre of a pediment such as that of iEgina, and
instead of the fallen hero over whom the combat is
going on, placed an animal of the chase. Again, the
archer on the left is a figure familiar to the ^gina
pediment and on vases where the round surface corre-
sponds in a manner with the centralising tendency of a
pediment. For the chase he seems to be superfluous.
Not only the composition on this side of the sarco-
phagus but the figures individu-
ally on all sides of it, with their
slight and spare proportions, their
rigidity in action, and the careful
rendering of their drapery and
armour, would suit well the stage
of sculpture in which the ./Egina
marbles were executed.
At either end of the sarcophagus
stood a stele, each sculptured in
relief, with a group of two sphinxes
confronted with an elaborate floral
^'^"c^hJ^'''Hu*il\'\'-^"' ornament rising between them. A
similar representation of Sphinxes
occurs on several other stelee or upper parts of stelae
which I found in tombs at Golgos. Two pairs of
Sphinxes guard the doorways of the tomb from which
the Lycian relief in the British Museum is taken {en-
SILVER PATERA. FRUU COLGOl.
Chap. IV.] SCULPTURED STEI./E. II7
graved, pi. xvi.-xvii.). Similar Sphinxes are seen at both
ends of the large sarcophagus from Amathus (engraved
p. 267), and other instances might be quoted to show
that the figure of the Sphinx, like that of the Siren
and Harpy, was employed with some sepulchral sig-
nification. These sculptures are good examples of
bas-relief about the end of its archaic stage, when
the relief was kept fiat, the composition graceful and
Two SulK raugd with the Sucophagiu. Hcighl. 4 fcei.
decorative rather than imitative of reality, and the
details very carefully worked out. The silver patera,
of which an engraving is given (pi. xi.), was found in
one of these tombs during my absence in America,
and is in the possession of Mr. Stini, a merchant of
Larnaca, who kindly allowed me to take a careful
drawing of it.
Ten minutes' walk south of this burial ground is a
small place called " Aghios Photios," where M. de
Il8 CYPRUS. [Chap. IV.
Vogu6 is also said to have dug and found some fine
stone heads and statues ; but when I visited it, the
barley which covered the fields was just coming into
ear, and nothing was visible of these excavations. I,
however, marked the spot, and decided to revisit it after
the crop had been gathered ; but official duties, and
other excavations, prevented me at the time from doing
so, and for several years I quite neglected Aghios
Photios ; till, in the beginning of 1870, two of my
diggers came to Larnaca and begged permission to
dig at Athieno. Remembering my intention of digging
at Aghios Photios, I furnished them with funds to
support them and their families in the meantime, and
explained to them where I wished them to dig, telling
them that in a few days I would ride over and inspect
their work. Nearly a week passed before I heard from
them, and I was beginning to doubt their success when
one morning, while I was at breakfast, a muleteer
was announced as having arrived from Athieno with
a message from them informing me that they had
discovered an enormous stone head and other sculp-
tures, and requesting me to send a cart at once for
them, as otherwise they feared the interference of the
proprietor of the land upon which they had been
found.
There was to be a meeting of the consular corps
that afternoon, over which as the Doyen I was obliged
to preside, and it was impossible for me to leave. I was
much perplexed as to what course to pursue, knowing
that any delay in the matter, should the sculptures
prove as important as the messenger represented them,
might afterwards cause me much difficulty, with a half-
starved peasantry ready to seize upon any objects likely
to afford them a ready return of money. Fortunately
at that moment M. Andrea Vondiziano, one of my
consular employes, now Russian Consul in Cyprus,
Chap. IV.] DISCOVERY OF COLOSSAL HEAD. HQ
came in, and upon hearing of my dilemma, kindly
volunteered to go to the diggings in my stead, and to
report to me the findings. Accordingly one of my
mules was at once saddled for him, and he set off
without delay, being previously instructed by me in
case of any trouble with the Turkish authorities or the
owner of the ground, to send me an express, and that I
should in that case start for Aghios Photios as soon as
possible.
In the afternoon, as the Consuls were assembling at
the American Consulate, a messenger came from M.
Vondiziano confirming the report of the muleteer, and
urging me to send him two ox-carts for the transporta-
tion of the sculptures,, adding that everything was quiet,
and that the stone head was colossal, being larger than
any he had ever seen.
I gave orders for the carts to be sent forward imme-
diately, and requested M. Vondiziano to have them
loaded without delay, and not to leave until the next
morning, when I would come to relieve him. M.
Vondiziano, who had frequently served me on like
occasions, had one most admirable quality, which is
both rare and precious — that of carrying out to the very
letter whatever instructions he might receive, instead of
modifying or distorting' them according to his own
fancy, as is the almost invariable custom of the natives.
Unfortunately, when the two carts arrived at Aghios
Photios, it became apparent that the sculptures were
too heavy to be raised without additional help, and to
obtain this it was necessary to send to the village of
Athieno. This step, though unavoidable, afterwards
occasioned, as will be seen, much trouble and annoy-
ance.
The consular meeting was protracted to an unusual
hour, much time having been wasted in trivial questions
by certain members, who, while suggesting nothing
I20 CYPRUS. [Chap. IV.
themselves, made a point of opposing everything
brought forward by their colleagues. Wherever a con-
sular corps resides in the Levant, its controlling power
is usually neutralized by the intrigues, jealousy, and
strife for personal influence which generally distinguish
it, and which the wily Turk knows so well how to use
to his own advantage. During the first two or three
years of my residence in Cyprus, the principal Consuls
were so united as to command collectively that deference
from the Turkish local government which they never
could have obtained individually. They were gentle-
men of high personal character, acquainted with the
world, and not easily to be cajoled by Turkish diplo-
macy. On the present occasion, however, this happy
unity no longer reigned, and some of my new col-
leagues, hoping to gain influence with the government
by opposing every measure tending to suppress any
of their illegal or arbitrary acts, ordinarily rendered
futile the object of the meeting, as in this instance.
Wearied by the length of time wasted at the meet-
ing, I retired early in search of quiet and repose,
with the intention of starting before daylight for
Athieno.
At midnight, however, I was aroused by the tramp of
horses' hoofs in the yard, and an excited conversation
carried on between some newly arrived persons and my
two cavasses. The new arrivals proved to be two
mounted couriers from Athieno, who had come within
ten minutes of each other, and each desired to see me at
once, in order that he might be the first to inform me of
what had occurred. The Cypriotes, like all untutored
races, deal much in the marvellous, and their imagina-
tions are easily fired. It was, therefore, some time before
I could get at the gist of their communication, which
was that those who went to get assistance in loading
the carts from Athieno had spread the news of the ex-
Chap. IV.] SCENE AT AGHIOS PHOTIOS. 121
traordinary find, and that the peasantry had rushed in
large numbers to Aghios Photios with spades and pick-
axes, all eager to participate in the diggings, and that
the owner of the ground and his relations were also at
work upon it, that wonderful things were discovered, and
that the greatest confusion prevailed. M. Vondiziano,
finding himself powerless to control such a multitude,
begged me to send one of my cavasses with some
'*zaptiehs" from Larnaca to keep order and guard
over the things found. While we were talking, a third
messenger arrived, bringing back the mule I had lent
to M. Vondiziano, and informing me that two of the
police belonging to Athieno had arrived and claimed all
the sculptures in the name of the Sultan, while many
peasants had also secretly conveyed objects to their
dwellings, hoping to be protected by declaring them-
selves in the service of this or that Consul. I saw there
was not a moment to be lost, and mounting at once,
after a hurried preparation, gave orders to one of my
cavasses to follow in the early morning with provisions,
my tents, camp-bed, etc.
A short distance from Larnaca I met several men
riding at a rapid pace, whom I stopped, believing they
were other messengers for me, but found that some of
them had been sent to the Caimakam or Governor of
Larnaca, and that others were muleteers employed
occasionally by other Consuls, and who had come to
give them also the news of the find. I afterwards heard
that two of my colleagues had risen and were actually
in the saddle, when they learned that the American
Consul was probably by that time already on the spot,
when they prudently disrobed again. My mule sped
on, ventre d terre^ towards Aghios Photios, where I
arrived in less than an hour.
The scene which presented itself was wild and weird.
All Athieno was bivouacked on the desert-like plain of
122 CYPRUS. [CHAP. IV.
Aghios Photios, the moon was not yet risen, and large
fires were lit at different points, throwing fantastic
shadows as men moved about, eagerly gesticulating and
conversing. The light falling upon their swarthy faces
and parti -coloured dress, gave them the appearance of
a band of brigands, which in some measure they were.
They numbered more than a hundred, and their shouts,
altercations, and attempts at song, made a perfect
Pandemonium.
I may here be allowed to state that the successful
issue of my affair with the Governor of Larnaca had
favourably impressed the local authorities towards me,
and had become well known to the populace. This
now stood me in good stead. As I approached, the
news spread of the arrival of the American Consul, and
the uproar and confusion instantly ceased. Having
been long accustomed to the control of large bodies
of men during my military life, I had not much diffi-
culty in comprehending the situation. At a little
distance the two Turkish policemen were standing
guard over the sculptures, and I at once rode towards
Chap. IV.]
COLOSSAL HEAD.
123
them, dismounted, and ordered one of them to take my
foaming animal in charge and walk it about, which
he did without question. I then called the other
zaptieh and motioned to him to disperse the crowd and
clear a space around the
sculptures. He obeyed as '
promptly as his companion,
and these steps had due
effect upon the multitude. I
then saw for the first time '
the colossal head. As its |
massive stony features were
revealed to me by the fitful ,
gleams of the fire-lights,
there arose a vision of a ,
people whose master-hands 1
had ages ago withered and
fallen into dust. But this |
was no moment for fanciful
dreaming. I now ordered ,
the carts to be brought near, 1
had the sculptures carefully 1
placed upon them, and giving
my mule to M. Andrea '
Vondiziano, requested him I
to escort them on the way '
to Larnaca until he should
encounter my cavass, to
whose charge he could deliver them and return to
Athieno. Thus I may say that I rather captured
than discovered these stone treasures. And this was
all accomplished without the dissenting voice of a
single person, each one doing what he was requested
to do with alacrity — without a murmur even from
the owner of the ground, who, however, followed me
like my shadow.
124 CYPRUS. [Chap. IV.
After the departure of M. Vondiziano I motioned to
the zaptiehs to lead the way to the village. Thus in
complete darkness, preceded by these two Turks and
followed by all the peasants, I walked alone to Athieno.
The tread of the now wearied and almost silent pea-
sants as they toiled on through the darkness, sounded
to my excited ear like the foot-falls of departed spirits,
who, roused by the rifling of their monuments, had
come to watch the disturber. As we neared the village,
however, the moon appeared over the hills, and silver-
ing the outlines of the mountains of Karpass soon put
to flight all thoughts of disembodied spirits.
On reaching the village I went to the house of a
muleteer, where I had stopped on former occasions,
and dismissing the two policemen with a small present,
bade good-night to the crowd which had escorted me
thither. Without undressing I wrapped myself in one
of the thick native quilts, and stretched upon a hard
wooden settle, was soon profoundly asleep.
CHAPTER V.
Removal of sculptures to Lamaca. — Purchase of ground and recovery
of purloined sculptures. — Systematic diggings commenced. —
Discovery of more sculptures. — Survey of another field. — Dis-
covery of a Temple. — Portions of its Foundations destroyed by
French diggers. — Many hundreds of statues found in its area. —
The Governor-General wants to stop the diggings. — Official cor-
respondence with the Pasha. — Many inscriptions in Cypriote
characters and with bas-reliefs. — Difficulty in removing the
findings to Lamaca.
The sun had scarcely risen, when M. Vondiziano
arrived, bringing satisfactory reports, adding, however,
that he had the greatest difficulty in crossing a range
of hills in order to reach Larnaca. Information also
reached me that the Caimakam of Larnaca, Arif Eflfendi,
accompanied by his Mejiliss, was on his way to Athieno,
coming, no doubt, to take possession of the antiquities
found on the previous day. Two important steps had
now to be taken at once. One was the purchasing
of the ground in which the diggings had been com-
menced, thus acquiring a right to all objects found
therein. The other was the prohibition of all further
excavations by unauthorised persons. This was accom-
plished in less than an hour's time, though with some
little difficulty. The owner of the ground demanded
;f i,ooo, which was refused ; but in the meantime, hear-
ing of the approach of the Caimakam of Larnaca, and
foreseeing what would happen, he came of his own
accord to offer it to me for ;f20, which, as may be
126 CYPRUS. [Chap. V.
supposed, I made no difficulty in accepting, and the
sale was thus effected without delay. The Caimakam,
after having rested an hour on the road at a so-called
coffee-house, continued his route directly to Aghios
Photios. He expected, from the reports he had re-
ceived, to find the whole of Athieno busy in digging out
most wonderful things ; but, to his astonishment and
that of his suite, he found the place deserted, and that
the antiquities also had disappeared. He sent for the
owner of the ground and the chief men of Athieno, in
order to be informed of what had happened. On learn-
ing that the ground had become the property of the
American Consul, but above all, that the objects there
discovered had safely reached the American Consulate,
even before he and his Mejiliss had left Larnaca,
he concluded there was nothing left for him to do
but to report events to the Governor-General ; and,
having made a hearty repast and imbibed several
gallons of wine and raki — as usual, at the expense of
the poor villagers — he returned, accompanied by all his
retinue, to Larnaca. Some of my men kept me well
informed of what was passing at Aghios Photios, and
in the meantime I was busy in securing all the objects
which the peasants had secreted at their houses in
Athieno, knowing that they would be likely to be impri-
soned if found digging without a permit.
They knew that I had the power of taking those
things from them by force if I chose to use it, and they
were therefore very glad when they found that instead,
I offered them a liberal sum for the acquisition of each
object, though at first they were rather doubtful of my
good faith, and it required a good deal of tact and
manoeuvring to find out where all the pieces that had
been abstracted were, and who had them. Having
been privately informed which of the peasants retained
the missing objects, and having obtained a pretty
Chap. V.] RECOVERY OF SCULPTURES. 127
accurate description of them, I sent for these men, and
resorted to the following little stratagem to get the
articles into my possession. I had lying upon a chair
a volume of Layard's ** Nineveh," and selecting a page
upon which was an engraving as nearly resembling
the object I knew the man had concealed as I could
find, I told him that this book was a book of divina-
tion, and that by it I could discover whether or not
he had secreted any of the antiquities. Then, boldly
turning to the engraving, I pointed it^ out to him,
and demanded its immediate restitution, but with
the promise of a good backsheesh if complied with at
once.
The amazed and convicted peasant would clap his
hand on his head, or use some other sign of astonish-
ment, calling out, ** Panagia mou ! " (my Blessed
Virgin !) ** he has a book telling him everything! '* and
shortly after the missing object would be forthcoming.
I do not believe Mr. Layard ever imagined that his
discoveries in Nineveh would be used in such a novel
mode -for discovering antiquities in Cyprus! In this
way I got possession of everything that had been found,
without much annoyance.
Early next morning, having been refreshed by a long
night's rest, I went to visit the ground I had purchased,
and was not a little surprised to find that it was not the
field I had originally pointed out to my two diggers as
the place where I wished them to dig, but a piece of
land some 200 yards west of it, and separated from it
by a little mound. In this field the crowd of amateur
diggers from Athieno of the previous day had, in their
eagerness, dug here and there in such a confused and
irregular manner, as to render it impossible to ascertain
with any degree of accuracy whether a temple had
existed there or not. I was therefore obliged to have
all the excavated earth removed from the surface, in
128 CYPRUS. [Chap. V.
order to examine the portions which had been left
undisturbed by the peasants.
When this had been accomplished, I had borings
made in the places where the men had excavated, in
the hope of arriving at the foundations of some wall,
but reached the virgin earth without meeting any such
indications, with the exception of a few stones cemented
together in semi-circular form, of which the diameter
was 5 feet 7. inches. This was found less than 3 feet
below the surface. It is evident that so small an area
never could have been that of a temple, even should
the whole circle have been completed, of which I found
no indication. I examined very particularly the few
stones amid the sculptures that were dug up on the
previous day, and convinced myself that none of them
had ever been used in building.
On my return from America in 1873, I revisited this
spot, and studied carefully the whole ground a second
time. I employed several men to remove again all the
earth which I had ordered to be replaced on the first
occasion, from the area within which the sculptures
had been found, and again I made many borings until
the virgin soil was reached, and satisfied myself that no
stone foundations of any structure had ever existed
there. I was particularly anxious to investigate this
matter thoroughly, as I had seen it stated in print that
I had discovered two temples at Aghios Photios instead
of one, and this occasioned much natural but wasted
speculation, in regard to which statues had been found
in one temple, and which in the other, and which of the
two shrines was the more ancient, etc. As my object
in these pages is to give the reader, as far as lies in
my power, a simple and truthful narrative of my
discoveries, I must be excused if I prefer stating
them as they actually occurred, rather than drawing
upon my imagination as to how they might have
CHAP, v.] STATUES OF EGYPTIAN STYLE. 1 29
been ; this I consider the pre-eminent duty of an
explorer.
It was in this field, as I have before mentioned, that
the remarkably well preserved colossal head was found.
But no portion of the body belonging to it was dis-
covered, with the exception of the base supporting the
feet, the left a little in advance of the right, as seen
in Egyptian statues.
I30 CYPRUS. [Chap. V.
Thirty-two statues of various sizes, all more or less
mutilated, and twenty-six bases, some with, and some
without the feet adhering to them, together with a pro-
miscuous mass of fragments of legs, arms, and bodies,
were also found in this field. These sculptures belong
to a hieratic style of art, in which the Egyptian or
Assyrian element predominates, or as in some instances,
are blended. None of them can be said to exhibit to ^
any degree the influence of Greek art. Their head-
dresses consist either of the pointed Assyrian cap, or
of the Egyptian pshent. The head, as my friend Mr.
Ceccaldi rightly remarked, is the only portion of the i
body to which the sculptor gave his particular attention.
As the type of features represented is neither Egj'^ptian
nor Assyrian, but has a strong resemblance to the
present inhabitants of Cyprus, it is presumable that
these statues were portraits of native Cypriote digni-
taries. Their dress consists either of a long robe
reaching to the feet, or of a short tunic coming only to
the knee. The arms either fall close to the sides of
the body, or the right one is folded on the breast, with
the hand closed or holding a lotus flower.
Among these thirty-two statues was one of semi-
colossal dimensions, the body of which is in an admira-
ble state of preservation ; the head, arms, and feet were 4
at first missing, but I had the good fortune to recover
them from the diff'erent peasants who had carried them
off". They are now united, and the whole has an im-
posing appearance. The head-dress is pointed, and
finished at the top by the representation of a calf's or
bull's head. The front of the helmet is divided by six
straight lines converging towards the top, and has an
ornamentation in low relief somewhat resembling a lyre,
repeated four times in each of the spaces. The beard,
which was once painted red, is elaborately arranged in
very short curls. The hair in front is also curled, and on
I
Chap. V.] STATUES OF EGYPTIAN STYLE. I3I
either side of the neck tall three long tresses. The dress
is a long robe falling to the feet, and worn much in the
same manner as the peplos on early Greek female figures.
Round the neck of the robe, are two rows of stars painted
in red, probably meant to represent embroider}'. The
treatment of the folds is not unlike that of archaic Greek
drapery. The forearms with the hands are made sepa-
rately, and fitted to the figure by means of plugs inserted
into square holes about four inches in depth. The right
hand holds a cup by its foot between the middle and fore-
fingers, while in the left is a dove with wings spread.
[Chap. V.
These attributes
would seem to indi-
cate the office of a
high priest of Venus,
possibly one of the
Cinyradae, as we know
that they were not
only at the head of
the priesthood of the
temple at Paphos.but
the recognised heads
of all the sanctuaries
of the island dedi-
cated to the worship
of Venus ; yet the
great development of
the breasts and the
quasi feminine fea-
tures, have led more
than one archEeolo-
gist to believe that
the statue might
represent the god-
dess herself, who,
according to Macro-
bius, was at Ama-
thus conceived as
having a beard ; and
in fact, I discovered
at a later period
two terra-cotta sta-
tuettes of a bearded
female figure in
tombs belonging to
that city.
Having remarked
COLOSSAL STATUE OF HKRCULES,
i
Chap. V.] STATUE OF HERCULES. 135
that much of the defacement of the statues found here
was due to the unskilful handling of the pick by the
peasants of Athieno, when I recommenced the excava-
tions I sent for a party of my experienced diggers from
Dali, whom alone I permitted to dig, but in order not
to displease the former diggers, who were very anxious
to work, I employed many of them in removing the
excavated earth.
I began by opening a trench ten yards from the
disturbed ground, and for two days was rewarded only
by some pedestals and fragments of statuary ; but on
the third day a fine statue of Hercules, of colossal size,
appeared, with the skin of a lion's head as head-dress.
The legs from the knee downward were at first wanting,
but were soon distinguished from their large proportions
among a heap of fragments a little way off, and shortly
after my men uncovered its base with the feet attached
to it. The right arm of the statue is broken off, and
could not be found, further than a portion of the hand
containing four arrows. The left arm is raised, and in
its hand had held a knotted club, which was disinterred
soon afterwards. A portion of a bow near the left
shoulder is also seen ornamented with the head of an
animal.
My workmen now came in contact with a quadran-
gular block of great weight, which had been partly
unearthed and damaged in the previous diggings,
and being unable to remove it, requested permission
to break it up. Instead of agreeing to this, I insisted
on having it turned over for inspection, though from
its being roughly hewn on the three visible sides,
it did not bear much* promise. Imagine therefore
my delight in finding a spirited bas-relief slightly
tinted with red, representing one of the labours of
Hercules.
This relief is divided by a horizontal line into two
136 CYPRUS. (Chap. V.
main fields, and in this respect reminds one of the
Assyrian friezes. Apparently on a third field or plain,
and not on a pedestal, as M. Ceccaldi says (Rev. Arch.
1872, p. 223), is represented Hercules in colossal pro-
portions, advancing from the left. He wears the lion's
skin falling from the shoulders; the right arm is elevated
Chap. V.] PEDESTAL WITH BAS-RELIEF. 1 37
to the height of the head, but the head itself, and the
upper portion of the body, is too much obliterated to be
distinguished. In the distance is seen the herdsman's
dog, Orthrus, which has here three heads, instead of
two as usually supposed ; an arrow pierces its neck
between the second and third head. In the lower
field is the herdsman Eurytion driving away the cattle
of Geryon to prevent Hercules from obtaining them,
and thus accomplishing one of the tasks imposed
on him by Eurystheus. This relief has been pub-
lished by Ceccaldi in the Revue Arch6ologique, xxiv.
(1872), pi. 21, and by Doell, Die Sammlung Cesnola,
No. 763.
It became evident that this huge stone was the
pedestal of the newly discovered statue, and this was
confirmed by our finding that it fitted exactly. As it
would have been both very difficult and useless to
remove so great a mass, I decided on having the
sculptured portion sawn off. This was safely and easily
performed by one of my own diggers.
Although, after this important discovery, the dig-
gings were continued ten or twelve days longer, nothing
was found worth recording, nor was the slightest
evidence of architectural remains to be seen. Leaving
the men, under the superintendence of M. Vondiziano,
at work in this field, I took another party with me, and
went to survey the field on the other side of the
mound which was the object of my previously intended
explorations.
The diggings superintended by M. de Vogu6 had
commenced at the top of the mound, and extended
down its eastern slope into a strip of land not over two
acres wide, flanked by a low ridge. On reaching the
foot of the mound he proceeded a little southward, to
the distance of a few yards only, and then the work
was abandoned. The owner of the field which I came
138 CYPRUS. [CHAP. V.
to survey, was a shrewd Greek peasant, who being
anxious to sell it to me at as high a price as possible,
began extolling the beautiful things which he said a
^^milordo Francese^' had brought away from thence, and,
added he, casting his eyes up to heaven and clasping
his hands over his breast, ** without paying me anything
for them ! "
With the exception of the four trenches which were
still visible, and the mounds of earth thrown up from
them, there was nothing to be seen which would indicate
that anything had ever been found there.
I succeeded finally in buying the ground for a few
hundred piastres, on condition that in case of my find-
ing things of value, the price of the ground should be
augmented to that paid the owner of the other field.
He also stipulated that when my diggings were termi-
nated, the ground should revert to him. This being
agreed to, I had a bill of sale made out, and after having
carefully surveyed the whole area I had purchased,
began digging in a regular manner from the foot of the
mound, by opening a trench twenty-five feet in length,
and advancing thus towards the centre.
To attempt to induce the peasants to work with iron
spades and wheelbarrows was and always is quite use-
less ; they persistently refused them, and therefore the
work progressed very slowly, much time being employed
in removing the excavated earth by means of the native
basket slung over the shoulder by a rope. After the
trench became widened, and had reached a depth of 6^
feet, I encountered a stone wall 2 feet 10 inches high,
and 2 feet thick. This wall was followed until its ex-
m
tremity at either end was reached. On the north end, the
wall turned at a right angle in an easterly direction, but
the southern end abruptly ceased after a few feet, though
upon examination it seemed intact, and not to have
been destroyed by former excavations. Leaving off"
Chap. V.]
TEMPLE OF GOLGOI.
139
work on this side, we followed the line of the northern
wall, and met its eastern angle at a distance of 30 feet.
As the western wall, notwithstanding its abrupt termina-
tion, already measured over 45 feet, it was evident that
the northern wall was the width of the building. In
process of time the eastern wall was laid bare, and
found to measure 60 feet in length, being double the
width. These walls proved to be merely the foundations
of the structure. I am convinced that a great number
4* • 0.
M • 6
Plan of Temple of Golgol
of the temples built in Cyprus previous to Hellenic
influence in the island, were very simple in their
architecture, built exclusively of sun-dried bricks, and
then thickly plastered within and without, like the
houses built there at the present day. The absence of
columns and the finding of two stone capitals in this
encloaure, may be explained by the conjecture that the
custom which prevails to-day in Cyprus, especially in
the interior, of forming the columns of the porticos and
peristyles of wood, with capitals and bases of stone,
obtained at that period. For this purpose, the capitals
found among ancient ruins are often employed now, and
140 CYPRUS. [Chap. V.
sometimes with ludicrous effect, as for instance in the
portico of a Greek convent at Lapethus, where I counted
twenty wooden shafts, only five feet in height, supported
and crowned by beautifully carved Corinthian capitals,
out of all proportion to the petty shafts. It is a pity to
see those capitals of fine marble, and excellent work-
manship, used for the support of a roof of mud, after
having doubtless adorned some important building in
ancient times.
As soon as I had ascertained the length of the
eastern wall or foundation, I increased the number of
workmen, and continued the excavations along the
whole line at the same time. After removing the seven
feet of earth which covered it, a line of oblong pedestals,
seventy-two in number, roughly made and of various
proportions, became visible. They seemed to occupy
their original positions, and were placed close to each
other, but without any equality of height. We had
scarcely advanced two feet from these when along the
whole line appeared a number of statues in calcareous
stone, which afterwards proved to be of all sizes, from
colossal to the size of statuettes, most of which were
lying with their faces downward. Although these
figures were so few feet from the surface, yet they were
exceedingly difficult to remove, owing
to the earth in which they were im-
bedded being so mixed with the clay,
probably of decomposed bricks, as to
form a concrete mass, almost im-
penetrable to the pickaxe.
Tei"-eoiii. Animal carrying To render the task of the diggers
in some measure less difficult, I had
water brought and poured on, so as to soften the earth
some inches at a time, by which means it was more
easily removed. But this was a very slow process, since
the water had to be brought from a considerable dis-
CHAP, v.] SCULPTURE IN TEMPLE OF GOLGOI. 14!
tance, and from a spring which yielded so small a
quantity as to require much time in filling the jars.
The mode of carrying water in Cyprus to-day is pre-
cisely the same as that in vogue three thousand years
ago, namely, by means of earthenware jars placed in a
sort of wicker yoke, which is put on the back of a
donkey ridden by the water-man. This may be seen
in the little terra-cotta Images belonging to the pro-
142 CYPRUS. [Chap. V.
cession found by me at Alambra. I was obliged to
employ six men for this purpose alone, and after two
weeks of very hard labour succeeded in extricating the
first row of sculptures. I particularly remarked the
grouping of the statues ; those with conical head-
dresses were found side by side, while those showing a
strong Egyptian tendency were grouped together. One
of these statues, from its greater size, attracted my
attention. Its outline could be seen, and it appeared
to be intact. Soon after one could perceive that it was
a bearded figure with a long robe. I cannot explain
how tantalising it was to be able to see these positive
evidences of fine sculptures lying there, while knowing
the patient industry and length of days necessary before
they could be got free from the soil. When the profile
of this statue became visible, there were over six feet of
cemented earth to be removed from its back, and each
blow of the pickaxe made me shiver even in that hot
climate, as I thought that the reverberation of the blows
alone might injure what promised to be a statue of
unusual interest and value. I amused myself for several
days in the interim with a wet sponge and a knife in
removing the clayey earth around the head, and from
time to time made some new and delightful discovery ;
first that its hair and beard were beautifully curled, after
the Assyrian fashion ; then that the curls, when wet by
the application of the sponge, showed traces of red colour;
then an almond-shaped eye became visible, with the pupil
coloured, also in red. . But the most prominent feature
which was to give character to the whole face, and
either enhance or destroy its beauty, would that be
found uninjured ? Alas ! it was too much the ordinary
fate of ancient statues to be deprived of this essential
feature to hope for better fortune in this instance ; but
I worked on slowly and with increasing precaution, re-
placing the knife by a piece of soft wood, and applying
Chap, v.] DIFFICULTIES OF EXCAVATING SCULPTURES. I43
the sponge freely. Finally the nose appeared in all
its perfection ; but the anxiety to find the rest of the
head intact increased, and intensified my fears and
hopes. Thus I laboured for
days, gradually developing one
feature after another, until the
whole magnificent head was
laid bare, and found unmarred
even by a scratch. It had a
pointed head-dress, apparently
representing knitted work or
leather, and ending in a knot.
Meanwhile the men were pro-
ceeding steadily with their work ■
along the line, and the promise
of backsheesh made them ex-
tremely careful of their picks.
Some statues had already been
extracted, but in most cases the
head was found severed, as if
broken in the fall of the statue
from its pedestal. It was quite
evident on examination that the
breakage was not recent.
Four men were busily at work
extracting my statue, and I
counted upon seeing it in three
days more standing erect in its
majesty. At last it was entirely
uncovered, and found in admir-
able preservation. As with smu* b ABymn -lyi.. rr™ coigoL
many of the others the head H«igh..6f«,3inch=.
was found to be detached, but this was a small matter,
since in course of time it could be firmly replaced.
The whole statue is nearly eight feet in height. The
dress, of some heavy material, reached to the feet and
144 CYPRUS [Chap. V.
entirely concealed the form, like those in the Assyrian
bas-reliefs found by Layard, with the exception of the
arms, which are bare and hang down by the sides.
The feet also are bare, and stand in a line. Round the
bottom of the robe were faint traces of red ornamenta-
tion, only visible on being wetted. Of all the statues I
discovered, none were so purely Assyrian in character
as this.
Nearly all the statues along the line were by this
time unearthed and placed upright in one of the large
Turkish tents which the Pasha had lent me. This pre-
caution against rapid evaporation after the moisture
they had absorbed was seen to be very necessary, as
any fragments which had been incautiously left under
the burning sun began to split. In the east wall, near
the south-east corner, was an
aperture which had probably
been an entrance ; near it was
discovered a stone vase seven
feet in diameter, and only sixteen
inches high, which had probably
been used to contain water for
sprinkling those with who were
to enter the building, thus cor-
responding to the perirrhanterion
Stone u*«i«riirtih Snake imd at tbc entrancc of Greek temples.
*" "^ In shape it resembled an enor-
mous bowl with four handles, and was decorated with a
wreath of ivy leaves carved round the upper part near
the rim. Unfortunately, it was broken in so many pieces
as to be past restoration. On a fragment was carved
a snake in bold relief, with the head erect, and under it a
dolphin ; on the right of the reptile had been an inscrip-
tion of several lines in Cypriote characters, but, unfor-
tunately, so worn out as to be no longer decipherable.
At the bottom of the vase was a round hole two inches
CHAP, v.] STATUES IN EGYPTIAN STYLE. 145
in diameter, for the passage of water. It originally
stood outside the temple, and close to the right of the
entrance. In the north wall
was found precisely the same
kind of opening or entrance,
and the same peculiarity of
position of not being in the
centre. Near this aperture
also was found a similar stone
vase ornamented with ivy Large sionc v.i.<: fonnd ^i enirinc of
leaves and two handles, with-
out any inscription, but in a good state of preservation;
it is now in the New York Museum. In it were found
several small jugs, roughly cut out of stone.
146 CYPRUS. [Chap. V.
After eleven days of continuous labour with no men
on this line of sixty feet we had advanced only nine feet
towards the centre, yet 228 sculptures had been un-
earthed ; of these, though many were found broken, the
surfaces were with but few exceptions remarkably free
from defacement of any kind, a matter of much surprise
to the archaeologists who examined them in Europe.
About two hundred of them averaged only two feet
in height ; the remainder were either life or heroic size.
After this find, though the men kept steadily pro-
gressing with their work with the same care and
precaution for a whole week, nothing more was dis-
covered, except in the immediate vicinity of the lateral
or north and south walls ; this was very unsatisfactory.
The Governor-General of the island now gave signs
of life. The Caimakam of Larnaca had duly reported to
him my recent discoveries, embellishing them as usual
with the oriental tale of gold findings. The Pasha,
whose authority at the time of which I write was almost
unlimited, had, however, a kind of Council to which he
referred all matters of importance, and was expected to
a certain extent to act upon its advice. The great
Council, as it was styled, was composed of the highest
dignitaries of the island, both Christian and Mussulman,
residing in the capital ; prominent among them being
the Turkish Chief Justice (Mollah), and the Greek
Archbishop of Cyprus. The Pasha communicated the
Caimakam's report to the Great Council, and asked
what was to be done in the matter. The Council, after
due deliberation, advised the Governor-General to stop
further excavations, and to apply to Constantinople for
instructions. In accordance with this advice I received
a few days later an official despatch from his Excellency,
informing me of the Council's decision, and enclosing in
it, for my consideration, a copy of the Masbatta or docu-
ment he had received from the Council on the subject.
Chap, v.] INTERFERENCE OF GOVERNOR-GENERAL. I47
He added that he had received my letter requesting the
loan of twelve tents for the use of my diggers while at
Aghios Photios, and that he had given orders that they
should be sent to me without delay ; the incongruity of
this with the official despatch was thoroughly Turkish.
At the time of these discoveries (i86g) there was not,
as now, telegraphic communication between Cyprus
and the capital of the Turkish Empire, and I knew that
more than a month would be required before any
answer concerning my diggings could arrive, should the
Porte be disposed, by extraordinary reports of their
importance, to suspend or revoke my firman, and there-
fore I took the matter quite coolly.
Not having time just then to enter into a lengthy
correspondence with the Pasha in order to show that
neither he nor his Council had any right (though they
might have the power) to interfere with my excavations,
and that on my part there was not the slightest inten-
tion of giving them up, I ignored altogether the first
part of his Excellency's letter, and thanked him very
profusely for his kindness in sending me the required
tents, which had arrived safely, and assured him that
my poor diggers were most grateful to him for thus
sheltering them from the cold nights.
I knew from long intercourse with Turkish officials
that the Pasha would take his time to write to me
again on the subject, though we were only two hours
distant from each other, and indeed, ten days elapsed
before I heard from his Excellency again. His next
letter acknowledged the receipt of mine, but called my
attention to the fact that I hsid forgotten to mention whe-
ther I had received the Masbatta of his Council, and
whether I had ceased excavating at Aghios Photios.
In cases like this, I always found the Turkish system
of epistolary correspondence very convenient and con-
sequently allowed another long week to pass before
L 2
148 CVPRUS. [Chap. V.
answering. Then I wrote, that I had in fact received
the document referred to in his letter, and soon hoped
to have the pleasure of informing him that I had dis-
continued my excavations at Aghios Photios, but that
should I do so it would be merely in order to be agree-
able to him, and not in the least as a recognition of
any right on the part of the great Council of Nicosia to
interfere in the affairs of the American Consul.
Thus my weekly correspondence with the Governor-
General lasted until my explorations at Golgoi were
entirely completed, and then I complied with his re-
quest. Pending the official correspondence I hastened
to procure a number of ox-carts and camels from
Nicosia and Larnaca, for the speedy removal of the
objects to my residence, where I knew they would be
safe under the American flag.
This proved to be no very easy undertaking, as the
ground over which the two-wheeled carts of native
manufacture had to pass was very uneven, and in some
cases deeply ploughed. Besides, there was a steep hill
to be got over, which even with the sure-footed mule
of Cyprus, one prefers to do on foot. Indispensable
repairs also had to be made in the route I had traced,
in order that the carts might safely reach the Larnaca
road from my encampment.
The most difficult obstacle to overcome was that of
getting the carts over the hill, which the ox-drivers
were unanimous in agreeing was an impossibility.
I accompanied the first convoy by this route, and found
the best plan was on reaching the top of the hill, to
remove the wheels of the waggon, place them upon
the camels provided for the purpose, together with a
portion of the sculptures, and the waggons being thus
lightened, to let them be dragged like sledges down the
declivity, when the wheels and the sculptures being
replaced, the waggons could without further difficulty
Chap. V.] REMOVAL OF SCULPTURES. 149
reach Larnaca. This succeeded admirably, but it was
tiresome and expensive.
Early in the week follow-
ing that of almost pro-
fitless excavations, so far
as regarded the findings,
a votive-tablet in calcareous
stone, 15 inches by 10, was
discovered, with a sketch of
a convivial scene in the lower
field, and a religious ceremony
in the upper. There were
also other tablets, mostly
fractured, having bas reliefs
and inscriptions in Cypriote
characters ; eight feet from
the eastern wall I found a row
of five great square blocks of
stone, exactly ten feet apart,
which had been either pede-
stals or bases of pillars. On
one of these blocks were still
remaining the feet of two large
150 CYPRUS. [CHAP. V.
Statues which must have stood back to back, since the
heels touched each other. Near the north and south walls
many stone pedestals were disposed in the same manner
as those found along the eastern wall, and in close
proximity were some fine statues in an excellent state of
preservation, one of which, life-size, had escaped decapi-
tation in its fall, and is crowned with a triple wreath.
Its beard is curled after the fashion of the beards in
the human-headed bulls from Nineveh with which Mr.
Layard has enriched the British Museum, and its dress
is disposed in regular folds. In one hand it holds a
small round box, and with the other a dove by the
wings. The feet were broken off, but lay near. On
its face is a curious smile mingled with cunning, very
different from the expression of dignity and repose
which characterises the others.
When we had arrived at the centre of the temple a
thick layer of ashes was found with some large pieces of
carbonized wood, a
specimen of which is
now deposited in the
New York Museum.
This layer, as far as
I could ascertain,
measured ten feet in
length and seven in
width. From among
ori oncmcn. ^^^ ashcs I plckcd
up a little alabaster vase and two clay figurines of horse-
men similar to those found in the tombs at Alambra and
Dali. As soon as I became aware that all the sculp-
tures lay nine feet below the surface, and that nothing
would be met with until that depth had been reached,
I had the earth removed much more rapidly than at
the beginning. The work was thus continued until we
approached the western wall, where, from the idea I
Chap. V.] EXPLORATION OF TEMPLE. 151
had formed as to the original arrangement of the
statues in the temple, I expected to reap another
harvest, and I was not disappointed.
One morning, however, the men who were digging
near the south wall reported the discontinuance of it as
well as of the line of pedestals, while on the opposite
side both were still being followed. I jumped into the
trench in which the men were working, and after
examining the spot with attention, saw that the wall
had once existed, but had been destroyed. On return-
ing to the surface I perceived
that we had met one of the
trenches opened by the former
explorers, by whom the re-
mainder of this wall had been
destroyed. It seems strange
that having met with this por-
tion of it, they did not follow
it up, but apparently preferred
digging outside the enclosure
without obtaining any results.
At the end of five weeks
from the commencement of
our work we found ourselves
twenty-two feet from the
eastern wall, and had again
the pleasure of discovering
imbedded in the earth a mass
of statues and heads, some
of which were more than life
size. Such surprises give the
men new spirits. They be-
come weary and disheartened stuueofPnai Sion= Hl fLSin.
when nothing is found for
several days. I was now obliged to re-employ those of
the water-carriers with whom I had for the time dis-
152 CYPRUS. [CHAr. V,
pensed, and even to increase their number to ten, as I
was anxious on more than one account to hasten the
termination of these labours.
The Greek Easter-week was fast approaching, and
during it no money could induce my Greek diggers to
continue working. I was therefore very glad when six
days afterwards we reached the western wall. The
sculpture found on this side shows a marked Greek
character, and includes one of the finest of the statues
obtained from this temple.
It is of heroic size, and probably represents a priest,
holding in one hand a box and in the other a patera.
There is an attempt to detach the forearm from the
body ; a cylindrical piece of stone has been left to
support the arm and connect it with the body. The
preservation is perfect. The character and exquisite
workmanship of the head attracted the attention of
Mr. Ruskin, who visited it on several days, in order to
Chap. \'.] SCULPTURES OF GOLGOI. 153
make a drawing of it while the Golgoi Collection was
in London. Among the many statues of Greek style
are two here engraved, which seem to belong to a
late period. A fine Greek head, found lying near this
wall, is characterised by intellectual features, and the
intense individuality of a portrait. It is supposed,
not without some reason,' to be that of the Cypriote
philosopher Zeno. The face is corrugated by deep
lines of care and thought, and presents a striking
contrast to the smooth and rounded though massive
features of the others.
I should mention as a peculiarity which occurs in one
of the stone statuettes, representing Diana (Artemis)
with long drapery, that the cornea of the eyes is cut in
ivory and inserted ; the pupils had probably been inlaid
with precious stones or enamel, but they no longer exist.
A statuette, about 4^ feet high, representing a muse
with a lyre, is remarkable for the graceful position of
the arms holding the instrument. Unfortunately the
head had been broken off, and could not be discovered.
154 CYPRUS. [Chap. V.
Another statue of much interest was one which re-
presents an Egyptian warrior. The head is covered by
a helmet, the top of which terminates in two large lotus
flowers ; several necklaces adorn the breast, and on
both arms are sculptured armlets. On the front of the
dress, halfway down, is designed an eye about two inches
SuUia oT Mum holding ■ Lytc SiOBC Wuiioi. Id tgypluBUjle.
long, beneath which is a head with two snakes issuing
from the mouth, under which they coil. A quiver
seems to have been slung over the shoulder. Not less
interesting is the portion of a statue of life size repre-
senting a warrior in a kneeling attitude, as if drawing a
bow. By his side is a quiver embellished with a lion's
Chap. V.] SCULPTURES OF GOLGOI. 155
head in relief, and full of arrows ; it is suspended from a
belt; beneath the quiver hangs a dagger. The position
of this statue is somewhat similar to the figure of
Teucer on the coins of Salamis.
Kneelini Warrior. Stooe. Life luc
Near the centre of the wall three very curious groups
were found, one oi which is 3 feet 5 inches high,
while the others are only 7 or 8 inches. They each
represent the same subject, the triple Gerj'on. The
heads of the largest group seem to have been struck off
purposely with some sharp instrument, and the necks
and shoulders are hacked in many places. Two of the
backs of these heads only could be found. The three
round shields with which this figure is armed are
156 CYPRUS. [Chap. V.
ornamented with bas-reliefs of warriors, some of whom
are Greek, in the act of fighting. One of these three
shields has been damaged by sharp cuts. Below the
shields appears a design of two Eg)'ptians fighting with
two lions. The left legs are represented bare, and
The Triple G*ry«i. Hdght, 1 foolgl iocbii.
advanced as in the act of marching ; the right are in
an unfinished state. The smaller groups also seem to
have been the subject of some person's antipathy, and
are much damaged ; one or two of the heads, however,
remain.
I must not omit to mention a statuette, probably of
Chap. V.] SCULPTURES OF GOLGOI. I57
Venus, which has this peculiarity, that the base is
supported on the heads of two Caryatides, of which,
however, only the heads remain. They are of an
Egyptian character. The
goddess is arrayed in a
long robe, the ample folds
of which she holds back
with one hand, and dis-
plays her sandaled feet,
while in the other hand
she seems to hold a lotus
flower. Three graceful
tresses fall on either side
of her neck, round which
are a string of beads or
pearls with an amulet as
pendant; a long veil,
surmounted by a diadem,
hangs from the back of
her head.
Among other objects
of interest were large
monolithic lamps in the
shape of little temples
about iS inches square,
of which the pediments
and columns with Ionic Kii;i,r,ofv«„.,
capitals were partly in
relief and partly painted in
red. They bore traces of having
been much used. There were ,
also a number of votive offer- 1
ings, representing eyes, ears,
noses, faces, lips, thumbs, feet,
and other portions of the human f
body rudely carved in stone, sijncLampKpr«eniingji.:,np,.
158
[Chap. v.
showing them to be from the poorer classes, not
unlikely the lepers, of whom there are still some in the
island, and of whom I shall have occasion to speak
afterwards. These offerings were all found in one spot,
as if placed before an altar or some particular divinity
supposed to possess the power of preventing or healing
certain diseases.
Near the north entrance, between the first and second
rows of large square blocks or pedestals, was another
kind of votive offering con-
sisting of little stone groups
of women holding and some-
times suckling babes, and
of cows and other ani-
mals similarly occupied with
theiryoung. Another group,
badly defaced, consisted of
four persons, one holding a
voii« scuipiuie. newly born babe, while the
mother, extended upon a
sort of chair, her face still convulsed by pain, has her
head supported by an attendant. Another group, in
no better preservation, exhibited a like scene in the
vaccine race. In the close proximity of these offer-
Chap. V.] SCULPTURES OF GOLGOI. I59
ings was found the base or lower part of a cone in
blue granite, which Mr. Georges Ceccaldi recognises
as a fragment of the symbol of Venus. A stone
arm-chair was also found within the area, and near
it two foot-stools of stone, the larger of which mea-
sures 3 feet by 12 inches, and is ornamented only
on the front by two large rosettes and a lion killing
a stag in low relief. The same subject is represented
Fool-itod. CbloBg.
FDot^uiwI. ObloBc. Chiincn.
on silver coins of Citium. The larger one has on the
front a relief of the Chimiera.
I was struck with the order which was evident in the
original arrangement of the sculptures in this temple,
the statues, as I have before remarked, being ranged
according to the art or nationality they represented —
the Egyptian by themselves, the Assyrian in Hke
manner, and the Greek and Roman near the western
wall, the tablets with bas-reliefs and inscriptions by
themselves, and the different votive offerings classed
l6o CYPRUS. [Ch*p. V.
according to their nature, and probably placed before
their appropriate divinities.
That these are the ruins of a temple, the inscriptions
and votive tablets place beyond doubt, but in what
fashion it was built, it is very difficult to say. Had it
not been roofed, the surface of the statues would now
show traces of exposure to the elements. Yet how the
roof was supported can only be conjectured, since but
two capitals of columns were found.
,TIjK HOLDIXi;
Chap. VI.] HOW THE TEMPLE WAS DESTROYED. 1 63
The fact that no gold or silver objects were dis-
covered among the ruins would lead to the belief that
it had been pillaged and destroyed ; while the car-
bonised wood and deep layer of ashes found in the
centre would, on the other hand, give rise to the
impression that it had been struck by lightning. In
that case the cross beams and rafters,, if left bare (as
is still the custom of the natives, even in their loftiest
buildings), would be fired by the electricity, and these
pieces of charred wood, to some of which there were still
adhering long bronze nails, might be the remains of the
roof, which in falling would have thrown down the
statues. These coming in contact with the unpaved
soil were but little injured. The mud walls, supported
only by a foundation of stone 2 feet 10 inches high,
would of course soon follow, though not, perhaps, before
the priests could remove all the portable objects of
value. That the walls fell in, is proved by the mass of
clay and triturated straw in which the statues were
found embedded. They had become so consolidated
by sun and rain as to render their excavation very
difiicult. Again, the destruction of the temple may
have been caused by the shock of an earthquake,
such as was in antiquity and still is a not un-
frequent occurrence in the island. All, however, is
mere conjecture, but the fact that the different epochs
of art contained within the temple cover a long line of
years.
On the Saturday noon preceding the Greek Easter-
week, I fortunately and most happily terminated my
excavations at Golgoi. The tents were struck, the
ground all levelled again, and the diggers having been
dismissed, returned to their villages in gay spirits and
with their purses well filled. Having lost no time in
returning the tents to the Pasha, with my renewed
thanks, and the information that I had discontinued my
M 2
lf)4 CYPRUS. [Chap. VI.
diggings at Aghios Photios, I returned once more
to my family, and the never failing delight of ex-
amining and studying my newly discovered treasures,
which every day brought to light some new cause of
wonder.
CHAPTER VI.
The Cretan revolution. — Cypriotes holding Greek passports ordered
to leave the island within twenty days. — Protection of the Greek
colony of Cyprus. — The Greeks of Cyprus and the Hellenic
Government thank General Cesnola. — The Grand Vizier asks for
his recall without success. — Bad faith and abuse of power by the
Turks. — Refusal to allow the exportation of the Antiquities. — The
Turks circumvented and the collection shipped.
Pending my excavations at Aghios Photios, the
revolution in Candia had occasioned a rupture of the
diplomatic relations between Turkey and Greece.
The native Cypriotes who possessed Greek passports,
(easily obtained by a visit to Athens,) and had been
duly recognised by the Turkish authorities as subjects
of the King of Greece, were in a great state of trepidation
lest they should be expelled from the island without a
day's warning. The Greek Consul had himself come
to Aghios Photios several times during my stay there
to consult with me and ask for advice in the matter.
During the several meetings of the Consular corps, I
endeavoured to effect something in behalf of these per-
plexed people, but without avail, as the Consuls had
received positive orders from their respective Govern-
ments not to interfere, though personally some of them
were anxious to assist them as much as lay in their
power. A few days after my return to Larnaca the
Governor-General received an order from the Porte,
which he immediatelv communicated to the Consuls, to
l66 CYPRUS. ' [Chap. VI.
the effect that all Greek subjects residing in Cyprus
should leave the island within twenty days. Mr.
Georges Menardos, the then Greek Consul in Cyprus,
received instructions from his Government to request
one of his colleagues to look after the affairs of the
Hellenic colony, then to lower the Greek flag and
return to Greece.
My official instructions were in every way similar to
those received by my colleagues, but the American
Minister, in a private letter to me, warmly approved of
my using any personal influence I might possess with
the Turkish authorities to diminish the distress of the
Greeks. As Mr. Menardos had begged me to act in
the interest of his countrymen during these twenty
days, I received the Greek Consular archives, and
undertook to wind up all the commercial matters
between the Greek and Turkish subjects, which was
not a small undertaking. Mr. Menardos had just
wedded a wealthy Cypriote lady and did not desire to
leave Cyprus, but offered to accept the post of private
Secretary to me for the time being, and thus, under
another title, he was able to assist me in the affairs of
the Greeks. During the week in which the order of the
Porte had been promulgated, the Greeks flocked to the
American Consulate for information from every part of
the island. In the court-yard and the square in front
of the Consulate was a crowd of old men, and of women
with infants at their breast, asking for their passports
and the pecuniary means with which to leave the island.
I had no funds for this purpose, nor was I sufficiently
rich to help them with my private means beyond the
daily distribution of some bread. It was heartrending
to hear of all the distress and ruin which this order if
carried out would cause to these unfortunate people,
who would be obliged to leave home and lands, and to
sell their few household goods and trinkets in order to
Chap. VI.] THE CRETAN REVOLUTION. 167
reach the shores of Greece, where utter poverty would
stare them in the face. My own conviction was that the
Great Powers would never allow their two prot6g6s to
go to war. Why, then, should these poor people be
forced to leave all they possessed and go begging in a
strange land ? For several days I was occupied in
endeavouring to find some method by which the neces-
sity of obeying this cruel order might be averted, and
the Governor-General be persuaded to leave these
miserable villagers unmolested in their homes. I re-
solved to start for Nicosia, and to have a talk with him
on the subject. Said Pasha was an intelligent Turk,
who spoke French fluently, and was not devoid of all
human feeling towards the Christians. His great am-
bition was to be a popular ruler, and I knew that to
succeed with him I must touch this powerful spring.
He knew that I had had charge of the Greek interests
in Cyprus since the withdrawal of the Consul of Greece,
and that the latter was acting as my clerk. His
Excellency had already sent orders to all his Caimakams
to act in concert with me in winding up the monetary
aff'airs of the Greeks without delay. The Turkish
judges, as might have been expected, were very prompt
in settling those transactions in which their countrymen
had anything to receive, but threw many difficulties in
the way where the opposite was the case. I had caused
several of the Greeks to pay their debts, and therefore
declared to the local authorities that no Greek should
leave the island while any Turk was indebted to him.
Said Pacha issued stringent orders to the same effect.
For two weeks my four dragomen were constantly
employed before the Turkish tribunals in these matters.
The number of debts due to the Turkish subjects
proved, however, to be considerably the larger. I
became aware then, for the first time, of the manner in
which these poor creatures were obliged to borrow
l68 CYPRUS. [Chap. VI.
money from year to year at an interest of 20 to 25 per
cent., in order to live and cultivate their lands, mort-
gaging to the money-lender their crops in advance. As
the corn at this season had not yet come into maturity,
they had no money or means by which to pay their
Turkish creditors, and if they were expelled within the
twenty days prescribed by the Porte, all their crops
would be ruined. The common interest of the debtor
and creditor was that the Greeks should not leave the
island until after harvest time, and on this I built my
hopes, knowing that could this be effected the Governor-
General would gain much popularity with a large and
influential class of his Ottoman subjects, whose principal
occupation is to lend money to the peasants and to
receive grain in its stead, with which they carry on an
extensive trade in Europe and the Levant. These facts
I brought so forcibly before the Pasha on my arrival in
Nicosia, that (added to a petition I advised the Turkish
money-lenders to send to him on the same subject,)
they had the desired effect.
I affected at first to be even more anxious than he
was that all the Greeks should leave Cyprus within the
specified time, and asked him what means of trans-
port he had provided for those families ; there were
many who were too poor to pay their passage to*
Greece ! I explained to him how utterly impossible it
was for them to pay their debts to his Turkish subjects,
and then, appealing to his weak point, told him how
much good he had done in the island, which was quite
true, and how both Turks and Christians highly
esteemed him. I showed him the improbabiHty of the
Great Powers permitting a war to take place between
Turkey and Greece, and asked why he should execute
an order which would injure his popularity, and be
the cause of so much harm, and which must soon be
revoked ? ** I see,'' said the Pasha, **you are really my
Chap. VI.] THE GREEKS ORDERED TO LEAVE CYPRUS. 169
friend, but how can I refuse to obey an order which, as
you know, is not only for Cyprus, but the entire Empire ?
What would you have me do ? " — ** Ask for instructions
at Constantinople," said I. His Excellency smiled
ironically, and I saw that he understood. It was at
last agreed between us that no steps would be taken by
him against the Greeks, even after the twenty days had
expired, without informing me previously.
News of a prolongation of the time for another
twenty days arrived by the next steamer. Before it
expired the war clouds had passed away, and not one
single Greek subject was obliged to leave the island
against his will. But in the other provinces of the
Turkish Empire, the Greeks had not met with such
lenient treatment. At Beirut, for instance, the Greek
Consul even was taken out of his bed by force, and
placed on board the Austrian steamer which was
leaving for Greece by way of Cyprus, Rhodes, and
Smyrna, and the next day, when the steamer anchored
before Larnaca, he landed and came to pay me a visit.
Mr. Molino's astonishment may well be imagined when
he saw his colleague, Mr. Menardos, quietly seated at
a desk in my chancelleries transacting his usual consular
business. I may here mention that the Greek colony
in Cyprus, and its own Government, afterwards gave me
many tokens of their appreciation of the little I did on this
occasion for them, and yet I merely paid a family debt
of gratitude to that people for their kind and generous
treatment of my uncle, Count Alerino Palma, who in
the unsuccessful Piedmontese Revolution of 182 1, being
one of its chiefs, was sentenced to death, executed in
effigy, all his property confiscated, and who, taking
refuge in Greece, found there both a high position and
a home till he died.
My successful interference in favour of the Greek
colony of Cyprus, and an imprudent publication in some
170 CYPRUS. [Chap. VI.
of the Greek newspapers, that in the event of war with
Turkey I would accept the proffered command of the
Greek cavalry forces, attracted upon my head the
thunderbolts of the Grand Vizier, Aali Pasha, who
was determined to have me either dismissed, or at least
recalled from Cyprus, and an official demand of that
nature rfeachfed Washington some time afterwards.
Some spicy correspondence ensued between the United
States and the Turkish Government on the subject, but
as there had been no act of mine which could be shown
to the satisfaction of Mr. Seward to have been per-
formed in my official capacity of American Consul, the
whole matter dropped.
As soon as the Greek question ceased to absorb my
time, I began seriously to consider what disposition I
should make of all my treasures. My house at
Larnaca, and the adjoining warehouses which I rented
for the purpose, were literally filled with antiquities.
In the absence of a photographer I studied the art
of photography, and sent representations of the most
important objects of my collection to the museums of
Paris and London. The Emperor Napoleon became
at once interested, and had decided to purchase the
whole of my discoveries and present them to the
Louvre, when the Franco-German war put an end to
the negotiations. One of the employes of the Russian
Museum at St. Petersburg visited Cyprus, expressly to
make a catalogue of my discoveries, which he published
on his return home (Doell : Die Sammlung Cesnola).
Parties in England strongly encouraged me to send the
whole collection to London. Meanwhile it proved the
chief attraction to all travellers touching at Cyprus, who
would frequently insist upon seeing it in season and out
of season, and I was consequently at times not a little
annoyed.
The well-known Cook's parties would arrive in scores,
Chap. VI.] VISITS OF TOURISTS. 171
and taking possession of my garden and court-yard,
persist in seeing the ** Museum " of the American
Consul. Should I happen to be present, thousands of
questions would be asked, some of which would not
always admit of an answer. Once an elderly English
lady with the proverbial ringlets, who belonged to one
of these parties, after attentively examining the Golgoi
statues for some time, asked me in the gravest manner
if I would be so kind as to explain to her the mysteries
of the worship of Venus ! When great numbers were
admitted to inspect my discoveries, it was not always
possible to keep visitors from handling the small objects
which were all lying on tables and shelves, and I am
sorry to say that sometimes the objects did not always
find their way back to their legitimate places. It is a
strange truth that there are people, apparently respect-
able, who think nothing of pocketing antiquities not
belonging to them, or of breaking off pieces of sculpture
in order to carry them away as trophies to their
homes.
The Governor-General one day, while conversing
with me about my discoveries, remarked that as in my
firman it was not specified that I could send them
away, he not only could not permit me to transport
them out of the island, but had received positive orders
to forbid their embarkation. I inquired of the Pasha
under what custom-house conditions or taxation the
Porte would allow me to export them to America.
" Under none that I am aware of," said he ; **you have
asked for a firman to dig, which has been granted, but
not to transport ! " I asked him what he had supposed
had been my intention in asking for that firman ? That
he declared himself unable to say. I had already had
reason to anticipate some trouble with the Ottoman
Government in regard to the exportation of so great an
amount of antiquities, although in the firmans issued
172 CYPRUS. [Chap. VI.
by the Porte at that time, no stipulations occurred,
nor was it in any way implied that the Turkish Govern-
ment should be entitled to any findings of the explorer,
nor that any special permission would be necessary to
export them. But the fame of my success had already
reached Constantinople, and the cupidity of the Turk
was aroused.
No desire for the advancement of science, or love of
art, was at the bottom of the embargo put upon the
shipment of my collection. I had had proof some years
before of the Turk's interest in such matters, when I
had requested Mehemet Kaiserly Pasha, the then
Governor-General of the Archipelago, to take charge of
two large cases of antiquities, which I had destined as
a present to the Ottoman Museum. His Excellency
promptly accepted the care of them, and promised to
see them delivered, but these cases, after travelling as
far as the Dardanelles, the official residence of Kaiserly
Pasha, never reached Constantinople, and I should not
be surprised if he had sent them instead to some dealer
in antiquities, as in spite of all the inquiries instituted
at my request by the American Legation, no trace of
them could ever be found.
On a subsequent visit to Constantinople, I went in
company with the American Minister and Dr. Dethier,
who has charge of that lumber-room styled the Im-
perial Museum, to see if I could recognise among the
heaps of objects there any of the pieces I had sent, but
failed to find any of them. In Europe or in the United
States, the Government would have asked the person
who had charge of the cases what he did with them ;
but not so in Turkey, when the person is an ex-Cabinet
Minister, and may be a future Grand Vizier. Knowing
therefore that the collection in my possession had been
acquired by me in the most legitimate manner, at a
cost of much labour, study, and money, and was as
Chap. VI.] INTERFERENCE OF GOVERNOR-GENERAL. 1 73
thoroughly my property as any thing ever could be
the property of anyone, and that the quibble now put
forward by the Turks was only instigated by their usual
bad faith, where their interest or passions supervene,
I decided to pack up everything, and if need be, to
embark them by force, knowing how useless it would be
to make any application for justice in the matter to
Aali Pasha, with his personal feelings towards me.
I applied to our Secretary of the Navy for a man-of-
war to convey my collections to the United States,
which he very kindly promised to send and gave
orders to the commander of the American Squadron in
the Mediterranean to that effect, but the opportunity of
chartering a vessel, which is of very rare occurrence in
Cyprus, happening soon after I had packed all my
antiquities, I decided not to let it escape, and there-
fore wrote to the Governor-General, that I desired to
know whether he intended to prevent the shipment of
my collection by force. In reply he sent me a copy of
the Grand Vizier's despatch sent to him some months
before, when he had asked what action he should take
in regard to my discoveries at Aghios Photios. In this
despatch he was instructed to prevent their exportation.
The Pasha added that he hoped I would not place him
in so disagreeable a position. The schooner I had
chartered was still discharging her cargo, and for some
days would not be ready to receive my 360 large cases.
I made sure in the meantime that the action of the
Pasha would be confined to a written protest, and
resolved to let him protest as much as he pleased.
Two or three days after a Turkish ship-of-war arrived
unexpectedly in the bay with some political prisoners.
This rather disconcerted me, particularly as it anchored
almost in front of my residence. Nevertheless, I deter-
mined, coiite que coute, to try the experiment, and sent
my confidential dragoman Besbes to the Director of
174 CYPRUS. [Chap. VI.
the Custom House to request an order from him for the
exportation of my cases. He showed him a telegram
from the Porte forbidding the American Consul to ship
anything, and regretted his inability to oblige me, but
his orders were positive, and, moreover, this was the
second telegram that had been sent to him on the
subject, the latter one having arrived that very morn-
ing. I confess this news lent rather a dark view to
things. There were my boxes all ready to be shipped,
and there was the vessel waiting to receive them. On
the other hand there were the two telegrams forbidding
it, and there was the Turkish corvette lying very peace-
fully just then in full view, but who knew, if I persisted,
whether she might remain so ? Who knew what orders
the Turkish commander might have received ? There
was the protest of the Governor-General. This last, it
is true, troubled me the least.
I sat pondering moodily, Besbes looking at me
through his great blue spectacles with his red-rimmed
eyes and impassible aspect (he is one of the ugliest
men I think I ever saw, but at the same time one of the
most faithful). ** Besbes," said I, ** these antiquities
must and shall go on board the schooner this day ! ''
Suddenly I saw a sort of twinkle in his eyes, and a
curious expression dawned on his lips as he said,
looking very meekly at me, ** Eflfendi, those telegrams
are to prevent the American Consul from shipping
antiquities," and then he stopped. I replied with some
heat, ** You seem to take pleasure in repeating the in-
formation to me — I should think I ought to be aware of
it by this time." Besbes did not lose a particle of his
equanimity, but only said still more meekly, ** There was
nothing in those orders about the Russian Consul.'' I
understood then what he meant, though my Western
civilization would never have arrived at this truly
oriental solution of the difficulty. ** Right," I cried ;
Chap. VI.] EVASION OF TURKISH ORDERS. 175
**go quickly to the Custom House, and tell the Director
that I wish to see his two telegrams." Shortly after-
wards that official arrived, and very politely requested
Besbes to read and to translate them for me. When he
had finished I asked, " Have you any orders to pro-
hibit the Russian Consul from exporting antiquities ? "
He thought for a moment, read his orders over, and
declared that they were clearly for the American Consul
only, and admitted that he could not refuse to give me
the permission should I ask for it in the usual official
manner as Consul for Russia.
Fifteen minutes after this I had the order in my hand,
and all the facchini of Lanarca at work rapidly remov-
ing the cases to the lighters. Five hours afterwards all
my cases were on board, and the schooner, now laden
to the water's edge, left for Alexandria, where they
were to be re-shipped for London. As I thought of the
heavy cargo, and the sudden squalls which frequently
arise in these latitudes at that time of the year, my
heart had many misgivings — all my treasures were
there, and not one piece insured ! My faithful Besbes
accompanied the craft, with no protection against the
waves or Turkish law but his own ingenuity, and the
little Greek flag which floated at the mast-head.
One whole month elapsed before I knew the fate
either of my cargo or of my more than devoted dragoman.
At the end of this time the face of Besbes appeared one
morning at the door of my chancelleries elated by the
entire success of his enterprise, and at that moment it
seemed to me one of the most agreeable faces possible.
My fears of a rough sea and stormy winds had not been
groundless. Stress of weather had obliged the captain
to put into Port Said for a week, and on his arrival at
Alexandria, no steamer being in port for London, Besbes
determined not to abandon his charge, but to wait until
he could see everything safely transhipped.
176 CYl'RUS. [Chap. VI.
Saifd Pasha said he had heard nothing of the matter
until his arrival in Larnaca, shortly after, on his way to
Constantinople, whither he had been recalled. In
speaking of it he declared that the whole thing had
been most cleverly managed, and that it was a pity I
had not been born a Turk.
CHAPTER VII.
Exploration of the S.E. coast of Cyprus. — Mode of travelling. — A
modem priest. — Ormidia, — An extensive necropolis. — No traces
of dwelling-houses or temples. — ^The sites of Throni and LeucoUa
identified by the author. — Ruins of Catalima, — Mysterious mono-
lithic cone. — Discovery of five cemeteries. — Famagosta probably
the ancient Arsinoe. — Criminals. — Kattirdj Janni, the Robin Hood
of the Levant. — Salamis prison and tomb of St Catherine. —
Church of St. Barnabas. — ^Two tumuli. — From Salamis to Cape
St Andreas evidence of Phoenician occupation. — ^Cemeteries and
ruins. — Mediaeval castles.
Early in the spring of 1872, I resolved to explore as
much as possible of the south-east coast of the island,
and for this purpose gave orders to have everything put
in readiness by my cavass Mustafa, to whose unwaver-
ing and affectionate attention during eight years' service
I may here pay tribute. During that time he learned
to read and write modern Greek, to keep accounts, and
to speak' the Italian language fluently. He combined in
his person butler, valet, dragoman, and consular guard,
and was honesty itself. The travelling cook whom I
employed on these occasions was informed of the length
of time his services would be required ; the tents were
put in order, the beds and bedding aired and prepared,
my portmanteau packed, the camp stools, dining table,
and a complete dinner service, together with an abun-
dant supply of everything necessary for a healthy and
even luxurious table, were placed upon mules and
donkeys. To this careful attention to comfort, and
N
^
178 CYPRUS. [Chap. VII.
the avoidance as much as possible of change of diet
and daily habits, I attribute the continuance of my
health during these trying excursions, in the course of
the many years I passed in Cyprus.
I found it in the end more convenient and less
expensive to purchase than to hire animals, and in this
way I became the possessor of several fine well-broken
mules and two strong donkeys, as high almost as
horses, of a breed peculiar to Cyprus. These donkeys
are glossy and sleek, with large eyes, and will trot as
fast as a mule ; they are besides very intelligent. Thus
provided we started in the early morning, and pro-
ceeded eastward for two hours, quite close to the sea-
shore, to a place called ** Palaeo Castro," a name given
by the natives to any tumble down building, whether
fifty or two thousand years old. Here I found the
stone walls of an oblong structure, hot older than the
Venetian occupation of the island. It had been a small
fort mounted with three guns, the embrasures of which
are still standing. Along the south-east coast are
several of these guard-houses, built near the shore on
elevated ground, some of which, now dismantled and
roofless, are of Turkish construction, and two or three
hundred years old. Most of them appear to have been
erected for the protection of the neighbouring villages
against the Algerine pirates, who not longer ago than
sixty years were daring enough to land and carry off
wealthy inhabitants, and to detain them until the
required ransom should be paid. In this neighbour-
hood is still pointed out the pirates' cave. Contiguous
to the fort I found vestiges of an ancient town, traces
of the stone wall which encircled it, and small square
foundations of dwelling houses.
The cemetery is just outside the wall, and near the
sea-shore. The tombs are only a few feet below the
surface, and of the shape usual ever}'where in Cyprus.
Chap. VII.] RESIDENCE AT ORMIDIA. 179
Those which I opened contained Roman lamps, glass,
and black varnished pottery of a very common kirtd. A
little east of the fort is a shapeless mound, apparently
artificial, which I found to contain two large graves of
the earliest period. From one of them I extracted
fragments of twenty-seven different skulls, and a number
of cylinders in haematite, not engraved ; also a large
copper caldron, bearing traces of fire, and many arrow-
heads in copper and in iron, but no vases of any
kind. This mound seems to have been erected over
some fifty or sixty bodies buried in two large oblong
tombs, evidently all at the same time, and probably
slain in battle. The earth which forms the mound may
be that which was dug up in making the tombs.
Continuing my journey along the coast, I reached a
spot where the road takes a northerly direction. Pur-
suing this, I soon came upon a small village called
Ormidia, inhabited exclusively by Greek peasants. It
was in a pretty little white cottage on the summit of a
low hill near the outskirts of this village that I estab-
lished in 1873 my summer residence, and this con-
tinued to be our summer resort as long as we remained
in the island.
Its chief attractions were a never-failing breeze at
night, good water, and. a large garden in the centre of
a cleared space, in which spread the branches of a tree
capable of shading a hundred persons at a time. Its
proximity to the sea-shore gave us the advantage of
land and sea breezes, and at the same time afforded a
new pleasure in the gathering of shells. In the cool of
the afternoon we would wander off to the beach, accom-
panied by a couple of men to look after our mules,
when we dismounted, and then my wife and little
daughters would amuse themselves for hours on the
sand, collecting what seemed the choicest among the
myriads of tiny shells which lined the beach. At
N 2
l8o CYPRUS. [Chap. VII.
Ormidia I first remarked that the Greek priests in the
interior, who work in the fields like the peasants,
wear a conical hat, not unlike those represented in the
statues discovered at Golgoi, and it appears to me not
improbable that this fashion of hat has been handed
down from the times of the Cypriote priests of Venus.
Not only this, but there seemed to me also to be a
resemblance between the features of the priest who here
attracted my attention and his sculptured predecessors.
His name I found was Pap^ Petro. I wished to have
his photograph, and having previously made my pho-
tographic preparations, I called him and explained
my wish. He begged to be first allowed to go home
and array himself in his most imposing garments, and
was not a little mortified when I told him that my
interest centred exclusively in his head and cap, which
he appeared to think, perhaps not without reason, to be
the least important of his belongings.
Chap. VII] ANCIENT NECROPOLIS. l8l
In the centre of a triangle formed by the villages of
Ormidia, Timbo, and Afgoro, I discovered a very
extensive burying-ground, which yielded the largest
and most highly decorated vases found in Cyprus.
The tombs are of a very ancient date. In 1870-71
and 1875 I undertook some systematic explorations at
this place, but without finding the slightest traces
either of temples or ancient habitations.
Height, r foot 6 in. Hsijht, over 3 feet
An hour's distance south-west of Ormidia is Cape
Pyla, called after a village of that name, and this
headland is, I believe, the promontorj' mentioned by
Strabo as Throni ; not that of Dades as Pococke
thinks, which is now called Cape Chiti. On the
extreme point of this promontory is a large round
tower which Pococke describes as an ancient ruin, but
which is a mere watch-tower erected for the purpose of
signalling the approach either of the enemy or of some
piratical craft, and does not date back farther than the
reign of the Lusignans. The circumference at the
l82 CYPRUS. [Chap. VII.
base measures 86 feet, and the height of what is still
standing, 22^ feet ; at this height, which I succeeded in
climbing with the aid of two of my men, the vestiges of
a doorway are visible. I found that the lower portion
of the tower was solid masonry to the height of 18 feet,
and that the entrance to it must have been reached from
the outside by means of a ladder. It is built of square
stones measuring about a foot, many of which have
large characters deeply cut on them. Some of these
characters resemble Cypriote letters. My object in
examining very carefully the vicinity of Cape Pyla was
to discover if possible traces of the ancient city of
Throni, and I satisfied myself that there had never
existed any town or village within a radius of more
than a mile. In every direction the ground presents a
continuous surface of hard limestone, which has been
quarried at several places. In visiting this Cape I took
a guide from the village of Ormidia, who conducted me
to a large cavern which he called " Spilio Macaria,"
the entrance of which faces the sea. This cave
contains a great quantity of petrified bones, some of
which competent authorities have recognised as human.
It is about 60 feet above the level of the sea. I say
about, because the rock at this place overhangs the sea
in such a way as to render measuring it both very
difficult and dangerous.
A young peasant who came there one day to procure
wild honey which he saw in a crevice lost his footing
and was drowned. I succeeded however in penetrating
into the cave, and found it to be 64 feet' in length, 46
feet high, and 21 feet wide. Two of my men entered
with me, and we found the petrified bones on the floor
and in the walls, forming a solid mass. My two men
worked for about an hour with picks, and were able to
detach only a leg-bone and some teeth. The layer of
bones on the floor of the cave seems to be several feet
Chap. VII.] SEARCH FOR SITE OF THRONI. 183
thick. How they ever came there will probably remain
a mystery.
My guide, who was the nephew of the Greek priest,
told me with religious awe that they were the bones of
" forty saints," and that to within a few years ago it
had been the custom of the peasants of Ormidia,
Afgoro, and other neighbouring villages to make a
pilgrimage to this cave, accompanied by their priests,
on the anniversary of the gth of March, but that the
Greek Archbishop of Cyprus, who happened to be in
Ormidia collecting his church dues at the time of one
of these pilgrimages, had ordered them to be discon-
tinued. Difficult as it was to enter this cave it was
still more so to get out of it, and had not my guides,
who were barefooted and accustomed to walk on the
rocks, lent me their assistance, I doubt if I should have
been able to come out safely.
Continuing my route along the rocky coast, which
in places is deeply indented by ancient chariot and
waggon wheels, the evidence of great traffic in ancient
times, I arrived in an hour at a little place called
" Potam6s," close to where a tributary of the Pedeus
empties itself into the sea. Here I found an old ruined
Greek church dedicated to Aghios Jorgos, and the
remains of an early Christian village fringing the
stream on either side. A little west of it is another
cave, which also contains a quantity of petrified bones
and somewhat easier of access, but I did not observe
among them any portion of human skulls or teeth.
There are tombs in this neighbourhood, but they are
all of the early Christian period. During two years I
searched in vain in this locality for the site of Throni,
of which Strabo speaks obscurely sometimes as of a
promontory, and sometimes as of a city. But at last I
discovered it, as I believe, between Cape Pyla and Cape
Greco, but nearer the latter, at a spot where extensive
*ii
184 CYPRUS. [Chap. VII.
foundations of houses are still visible. The place is
called Torno, which obviously is a corruption of Throni.
The town seems to have consisted of two districts like
Larnaca. In the district near the shore I found several
subterranean rooms, partly cut in the rock and partly
built of red bricks. The district farther from the sea
had been protected by a wall, the outlines of which I
occupied nearly an hour in following. In this part of
the town I discovered several stairs cut in the rock and
leading to underground, circular rooms, which seem to
have been used for storing grain, or possibly, like those
near the sea, were cellars of houses which may have once
been there. I had passed near this place several times
on former journeys without noticing it. No tombs were
discovered in the neighbourhood, but within the walls
I found vestiges of a circular temple, and in its area
brought to light several fragments of statues in cal-
careous stone and of Greek workmanship.
What finally led me to pay special attention to this
vicinity in my search for Throni, was the discovery of
some fragments of statues which I made in the church-
yard of a small village close by, called ** Sotira."
These fragments, I learned from the priests, had been
dug up at a spot called " Torno," by workmen in
search of stones to build the church. This being in
the vicinity of the promontory called by Strabo, Throni
— ^the Greek character of the sculptures found there,
together with the similarity of its present name and
the fact that no other town is anywhere mentioned as
having been built in the neighbourhood, led me to the
conviction that these remains could only belong to the
ancient Throni. I observed in the course of my explor-
ations that the most reliable as well as rapid mode of
identifying a town the site of which has not been pre-
served bv tradition, is to examine the walls of the
churches or mosques in the villages of the district
Chap. VII.] THE LINOBAMBAKI. 185
where history places the site, and to see whether they
contain any architectural fragments, as they are certain
to do whenever there has been an ancient ruin at hand
for the workmen to quarry from.
Before visiting Sotira I had examined another village
called ** Leo-Petro ; " but did not find any of the
indications there of which I was in search. Leo-Petro
is a mere agglomeration of huts. The inhabitants are
very poor, and eke out a scanty living by trafficking in
poultry, which they buy in the mountain villages of
Carpass and sell in the bazaars of Nicosia and Larnaca.
They are nick-named ** Linobambaki,'* that is, linen
and cotton, a figurative expression which means a
combination of Christian and Mussulman. While to
outward appearance they are Turks, and are so
recognised by the local authorities, in reality they are
Christians whose ancestors, at the time of the Turkish
conquest, were forced to declare themselves Mussul-
mans and to embrace Islamism in order to save their
lives and property. Many, if not all of them, had been
adherents of the Latin Church, though it is still fre-
quently a matter of dispute between the Greejc bishops
and the Latin priests as to which Church they rightfully
belong to, each church being desirous of claiming them
as its adherents. The marriage and baptismal cere-
monies of the Linobambaki are performed in secret by
a priest of their choice.
On the birth of a male child the rite of circumcision
is evaded by means of a present of money to the
Hodja. They adopt such names for their sons as are
common to both Christian and Moslem, such as
Ibrahim (Abraham), Moussa (Moses), Yusuf (Joseph),
etc. They do not number more than twelve hundred
in all, and reside chiefly near Nicosia, Famagosta, and
Limassol. Every year they are prosecuted by the local
authorities when the conscription takes place. As
l86 CYPRUS. [Chap. VII.
Mussulmans they are obliged to serve in the Sultan's
army if drafted, as Christians they would be exempted
by the payment of a tax called the " Askerich," which
commences from the day of their birth, and in order
that their children may escape military service, the
Linobambaki often pay this tax like the other recognised
Christian subjects of the Porte. The Turks accept the
tax regularly, as if it were the legal and proper exemp-
tion, until the young Linobambaki arrive at the age
when they are subject to be drafted, whereupon the
proof of having paid taxes as Christians is entirely
disregarded and they are claimed as Mussulmans. On
these occasions they cling strongly to their Christian
names as evidence of their faith, but, as may be sup-
posed, without avail. Rather than be mustered into
the Turkish army many of them abandon their homes,
leave the 'island and never return. In such instances
the authorities sometimes throw the father of the con-
script into prison, and declare that he shall not be
released until his son is produced. Sometimes also
they claim a brother of the person drafted, and any
amount of litigation and false witnessing ensues. Dur-
ing my time there were many disputes arising out of
this complicated state of things, and very often my
supposed influence with the local government was
invoked to obtain a favourable settlement.
On one such occasion the relative of an imprisoned
Linobambako begged my intercession with Aziz Pasha,
who was then Governor-General of Cyprus. I tele-
graphed to him at Nicosia, pointing out the violent and
unjust proceeding of the authorities at Larnaca in
imprisoning one brother for another. A few hours
after, when returning from my usual evening walk with
my wife, I met the already liberated man coming to
thank me for his release. That the Governor-General
had lost no time in acceding to my request was only
Chap. VII.] CONVENT OF STA. NAPA. 187
what was to be expected from a man of so kindly a
nature as Aziz Pasha, who also is endowed with a rare
nobility of character and principle which claims esteem,
whether found in Christian or Moslem. His natural
love of justice rendered him popular both with Turks
and Greeks, and a favourite with the Consular corps
during his administration of Cyprus.
Having ascertained the site of Throni, I continued
my route eastward towards Cape Greco. Half way
between it and the ruins of Throni there is a small
village of about fifty houses, inhabited by Greek
peasants, built on the side of a rocky hill in close
proximity to a large convent. This convent is called
Sta. Napa, and gives its name to the village. It be-
longed to the Latin Church before the conquest of the
island by Selim II., and was given to the Greeks by
Mustafa Pasha, but is now in a dilapidated condition.
Its architecture proves that it was built under the
Lusignan dynasty. The Royal Crusaders must have
richly endowed it, as it still owns thousands of acres of
fertile land, much of which lies untilled for the want of
manual labour. Its possessions extend as far as the
village of Ormidia. In the gardens of the convent are
two large stone reservoirs, fed, chiefly during the
winter months, by the water of a spring, the source of
which is some four miles north-east. The water is con-
veyed by an ancient aqueduct somewhat similar to those
at Amathus, Curium, Citium, and one or two places on
the north side of the island. The aqueduct of Sta. Napa,
like that of Citium, has undergone many repairs, and the
greater part of the construction, as it now appears, is
according to the Roman system ; but while following its
course I found several air-shafts, showing that the
water had been originally conveyed to Throni in a
more direct way, and by the ancient Greek system of
tunnelling. I explored some of these shafts, which
1 88 CYPRUS. [Chap. VII.
were pointed out to me as ancient tombs which had
been opened before, and found that the rock beneath
had been excavated some sixteen inches square for
the passage of the water. This part of the works is
now abandoned, and the aqueduct winds its way round
several hills to within a few hundred yards of the
convent, where it is bridged over by a structure of
square stones, many of which have large characters or
marks similar to the Cypriote letters. Just before
reaching the village of Sta. Napa, and quite at the foot
of the hill, are the remains of an ancient town of small
size which the natives call ** Catalima.'* I dug at this
place, but only for a short time, and brought to light
the foundations of an elliptical building in which I
found a large Corinthian capital of white marble and a
mass of broken tiles and jars. The place bore unmis-
takable signs of having been excavated before, probably
by the builders of the convent. A similar capital of the
same size and quality of marble as the one discovered
here, is lying half buried in one of the courtyards of
the convent of Sta. Napa, but the Greek priest, who is
now the sole tenant of the convent, could give me no
information as to when or where it had been dug up.
'* I found it where it lies," said he, *^ when I took
charge of the convent twenty-two years ago, and I left
it there undisturbed." Near it I observed a fine marble
basin or fountain, with figures in high relief, much
mutilated, which may also have been dug up at
Catalima, or more probably at Throni. It is much
earlier, in my opinion, than the Christian era.
Nothing remains standing of the ancient village once
occupying the site of Catalima except a curious mono-
lith, so worn by time and exposure to the elements as
to make it difficult to say whether it was originally
round or quadrilateral. Its present height above
ground is six feet seven inches, but digging round it
Chap. VII.] CATALIMA. l8g
I found that it extended some way below the surface.
There is an oblong hole through the centre, g inches
high and 5 inches wide. In
this hole was a heap of
broken glass, bracelets, some
glass earrings, and two or
three partially consumed
votive candles. I asked my
guide, Captain Andrea, a very intelligent Greek who
lives at Sta. Napa, why these objects were placed
there, and whether any superstition was connected
with it. He explained that the young girls of his
village came there and broke their glass jewellery,
either when they got married, or had been betrayed by
their lovers. Old women also came to that mysterious
monolith to light tapers, in the hope of being cured of
bodily ailments. Is it to the relic of a pagan temple
dedicated to Venus, or to the relic of some Greek
saint, that these women, whether young or old, resort
in their distress ? I was unable to determine.
I found three similar monoliths, with an oblong hole
in each, in different localities further east, towards Cape
St. Andrea. One, in the neighbourhood of a little
headland called ** Elea," near the village of Gastria,
lies chipped and half buried in the ground ; the second
is beyond a village called Galinoporni, where I re-
marked several air-shafts belonging to an ancient
aqueduct ; and the third is at Cape St. Andrea, where
are the ruins of a small town opposite the ** Kleides,*'
and many rock-cut tombs, all opened long ago. I met
with none of these monoliths on the northern coast of
the island. They may represent the symbolic cone of
Venus, under which form she was worshipped in Paphos.
The burying-ground belonging to Catalima, and
probably also to Throni, is some ten minutes east of
Sta. Napa towards Cape Greco, and quite close to the
igo CYPRUS. [Chap. VII.
sea-shore. The greater part of the tombs are roughly
hewn in the rock, and shaped like those at Dali. I
found in them many terra-cotta coffins, decorated with
garlands of flowers painted in red. The lids are formed
of three terra-cotta slabs placed side by side, and
cemented together by plaster poured upon them after
the body had been deposited inside. In these tombs
I found also a great many terra-cotta lamps, glass
objects, and a few gold ornaments, including the speci-
mens of iridescent glass now in the New York Museum,
which surpass in brilliancy of colour anything of the
kind I have ever seen.
The summit of Cape Greco has a flat rocky surface,
but there are no indications of its having had a temple
or other building upon it. East of this promontory,
which gradually slopes into the plain of Salamis, and
CHAP. VII.] LEUCOLLA. igi
where the sea forms a natural haven, I discovered the
ruins of an ancient Greek town. After digging a
few days at random, I came upon the foundations of a
building, from which I brought out some large heads
and fragments of stone sculpture, all bearing a decidedly
Coloiul Stone Hud of Cybelt. Found u LcucolU.
Greek character. From the geographical situation of
these ruins they can be no other than those of Leu-
coUa, a town which was in a flourishing condition at
the time of Alexander the Great, and gave its name to
the famous naval battle fought in its neighbourhood
between Demetrius Poliorcetes and Ptolemy. Its
192 CYPRUS. [Chap. VII.
harbour, some 130 feet below the level of the city, was
reached by a road cut in the rock, still partially visible.
From the small extent of these ruins, Leucolla must
have been a town of no great importance.
From this point to Salamis there are no ancient ruins
near the sea-shore that can be identified with the city
of Arsinoe, said to have had a harbour, and placed by
Strabo between Leucolla and Salamis. Famagosta,
which occupies the site of Ammochostos, one of the ten
royal cities which paid tribute to Esarhaddon, possesses
the only harbour between Salamis and Leucolla, and
may have been called Arsinoe under the Ptolemies.
North-east of Leucolla lies the plain of Salamis, where
the army of Darius defeated Onesilos, and where subse-
quently another Persian army of more than 300,000
men spent nearly ten years in vanquishing the high-
spirited Evagoras. It was also in this plain that Deme-
trius, after crossing the mountain range of Carpass, gave
' battle and defeated Menelaus, the brother of Ptolemy.
This plain is reached after a few minutes' descent from
the flat-topped promontory mentioned before, now called
Cape Greco, and through the little village of Paralimni,
built near Lake Para, which is now quite dry, and
during the Lusignan and Venetian occupation was used
as a rice field. Between Paralimni and the sea-shore
are a number of ancient tombs, which obviously be-
longed to Leucolla. Their contents had the same
character, and were of the same period as those found
in the ruins before referred to. Most of these tombs,
however, had been previously opened, and I found in
them only fragments of glass and a few Roman lamps.
Less than half an hour's ride east of Paralimni, and
within a stone's throw of Famagosta, is Varossia, a
thriving little town founded by the Christian population
expelled from Famagosta at the time of its capture by
the Ottoman army.
Chap. VII.] DECAY OF THE OSMANLIS. 193
It has a fine Greek church with a new belfry, which
is a fair representative of modern local architecture, a
good bazaar, several manufactories of potter}^ and some
houses built of stone, as good as any in Larnaca or
Nicosia, with orange and lemon groves and very exten-
sive gardens, studded with mulberry trees for the culti-
vation of the silkworm. The appearance of Varossia
presents a marked contrast to the gloomy quarters of
Famagosta, occupied by the Turks. Indeed, through-
out the island the places inhabited solely by Turks are
as a general rule dirty, miserable, and showing every
sign of decay, and this result is what must be expected
from a race who neither know nor care to learn any pro-
fession or handicraft by which to earn their livelihood,
but prefer to spend their time in idleness at the cafes,
drinking and smoking, while their families and house-
hold matters are left to take care of themselves as best
they can. In Cyprus the race of the Osmanlis is fast
disappearing. This I had opportunities of remarking
during my residence there, and I have been assured by
competent persons that only 40 years ago the capital of
the island contained more Turks than Christians ; at
the present day the latter are in a large majority. The
crime of abortion is extensively practised among the
Turkish population, and the Turkish midwives flourish
everywhere. I have spoken of this to Turks who were
intelligent and upright enough to condemn the system,
but they invariably added that the Turk was too poor to
allow himself the expensive luxury of having children !
If such a state of things exists also in the other
provinces of Turkey, there is no need of anything but
time to rid Europe of this degenerate race.
The devoted city of Famagosta, built by the Chris-
tians 800 years ago, from the ruins of Salamis, and
destroyed by the Turks in 1571, after the terrible siege
in which the Venetian soldiers so heroically defended
194 CYPRUS. [Chap. VII.
their position, once counted its beautiful churches by
hundreds, and its palatial dwellings by thousands.
Once it had been one of the principal commercial cities
of the Levant, with a harbour in which rode large fleets,
but which now through neglect has become filled with
sand, and is able to float only vessels of small draught.
It was just outside the mouth of this closed harbour
that the vessels containing the Venetian families and
their most precious personal and household effects were
sunk by the faithless Mustafa Pasha after he had killed
the Venetian generals.
As you approach the massive walls of the city, which
are nearly 17 feet thick and of solid stone, all taken
from the ruins of Salamis, you see how impossible it
was to take such a city except by famine or treacherj'.
The walls stand now as impregnable and intact as
when raised by the Lusignans. The old bronze guns
of the Republic of Venice are still on the bastions in
their original place, looking formidably towards the sea
and the plain of Salamis, but spiked and out of service
since 1571. There are a half dozen rusty iron guns of
Turkish manufecture pretty much in the same con-
dition.
The ruins of Famagosta are not grand and imposing,
yet to me they are most beautiful and touching. It is
impossible to see the still existing walls of many of its
fine mediaeval churches, with frescoes plainly visible on
the interiors — here a rectory built in keeping, there evi-
dences of elegant homes — ^without a feeling of intense
sadness. Only two out of the three hundred churches
which are said to have existed in Famagosta were left
standing. The principal one, formerly the Cathedral
and now used as a mosque, is paved with mortuary
marble slabs engraved with the names and arms of
Italian noblemen once buried beneath them, whose
bones were exhumed and thrown into the sea by order
Chap. VII.] FAMAGOSTA. 1 95
of the fanatical and ferocious Mustafa Pasha the day
after he captured the city. The other church, used as
a granary and a stable by the Turks, contains also a
few tombstones, now all worn out by the horses* hoofs.
There I discovered the inscription mentioned in the
Introduction, recording the day on which by the abdica-
tion of Catherine Cornaro the Venetians became the
rulers of Cyprus. Within the city walls resides the
Caimakam of the province of Carpass, with the Cadi of
Famagosta and the usual Mejilis. There is also a
military Governor of the fortress, and a company of
artillery. This Governor resides with his troops in a
small fort overlooking the sea, and flanked by a large
round tower called by the natives ** Torre del Moro "
(Tower of the Moor). Tradition asserts that in this
tower were the head-quarters of the Venetian Lord-
Lieutenant of Cyprus, Cristoforo Moro, during the years
1 506-1 508. In the latter year, on the 22nd of October,
Cristoforo Moro was recalled from Cyprus and returned
to Venice ; and from documents which I have been
allowed to peruse, it would appear that this man was
married four times, and that his private life was not very
exemplary. This Cristoforo Moro was the ** Othello"
of Shakespeare, and must not be confounded with his
namesake the Doge of Venice, to whom he was not
even related, who in July 1469 wrote to the King of
Cyprus a stringent letter in regard to Catherine
Cornaro, mentioned in the Introduction.
The fortress of Famagosta contains some of the
worst criminals of the Turkish Empire. Many of them
are condemned for life, others are sentenced on an
average to from 15 to 25 years* imprisonment, and all
are heavily shackled- Near the eastern wall, where the
prisoners are confined, are two caseftiates filled with
arms taken from the Venetian garrison. On the
handles of some of the rapiers I observed the crests of
o 2
196 CYPRUS. [Chap. VII.
the owners inlaid with gold and the Jerusalem Cross.
My friend, Mr. Hiram Hitchcock, who accompanied
me on one of my visits to Famagosta, had expressed a
desire to possess one of these interesting weapons, and
I succeeded in obtaining several for him. On that
occasion Mrs. Hitchcock and my wife were of the
party. On leaving the armoury Mrs. Hitchcock pointed
out some trailing crimson flowers which overhung a
parapet, remarking on their contrast to the surround-
ings. To our astonishment a short broad-shouldered
man who had remained always near our party, and with
whose commanding presence and fine manly face we
had all been struck, sprang to the parapet with the
agility of a cat, broke off some of the blossoms, and
returning presented a spray to each of the ladies with
all the grace of a courtier. To their horror, as he did
so, they observed for the first time that he was shackled
with heavy iron links from the wrist to the ankle. His
large sad blue eyes, and hair prematurely streaked with
gray, seemed to plead in his favour, and on inquiring
his crime we learned that he was no less a personage
than the celebrated Kattirdji Janni, the Robin Hood of
the Levant. Many are the romantic stories told of this
robber chief, who it is claimed never committed a
murder or permitted one to be perpetrated by his band
so long as he was at the head of it. It is said that
while in the service of a gentleman in Smyrna, he fell
in love with his master's daughter, and having planned
an elopement was betrayed by a fellow servant ; he was
overtaken and thrown into prison. Escaping from
thence into the mountains near the ruins of Ephesus,
he entered upon the wild career which finally brought
him to Famagosta. He and his band would lie in
wait for persons whom they knew were transporting
large sums of money and kindly relieve them of the
trouble of carrying it further; or they would capture
Chap. VII.] A FAMOUS BANDIT. 197
persons of wealth and detain them until a ransom had
been paid. Kattirdji Janni, having very crude notions
of right and wrong, would often give this money in alms
to the poor, and it is related that he endowed nearly
a thousand young Greek girls with marriage dowries.
No one ever dreamed of informing against him, certain
that should he do so some retributive evil would
infallibly be his fate. All efforts on the part of the
Turkish authorities to take any of the adventurous
band proved futile as long as Janni was at its head.
At the time of the Crimean War, when a part of the
English army was at Smyrna, five hundred soldiers, I
have been told, went out, assisted by the Turks, in order
if possible to secure him and to destroy his band, but
were entirely unsuccessful. The hills around Ephesus
and in the neighbourhood of Smyrna are admirably
suited to the professional brigand. To give some idea
of the boldness of this robber and of the terror in which
he was held by the inhabitants of Smyrna, I may give
the following incident which I heard of from a relative
of the family in which it occurred. One evening, when
this family were sitting at supper, they were amazed
beyond description to behold twelve men armed to the
teeth enter the apartment (houses in the East are all
easy of access), headed by this bold outlaw. These
uninvited guests, after quietly seating themselves, re-
marked, ** We will wait until you have finished, and
then we also wish some supper.'' The family imme-
diately rose in great trepidation and gave them whatever '
they desired. When Kattirdji Janni had finished eating
he told his trembling host that he and his family were
henceforth free to hunt or travel where they liked with-
out fear of being molested, as Kattirdji Janni never
forgot a kindness ! At last, tiring of this wild life, or
perhaps some better feeling coming over him, he deter-
mined to deliver himself up to the Turkish authorities
igS CYPRUS. [Chap. VII.
on the promise often held out to him, that he should be
exiled in Cyprus, but not otherwise punished.
He was taken to Constantinople, and I am inclined
to believe that the Turks would have kept their promise,
as they too love bold spirits and courage, even in a
bandit, but unfortunately, a young Frenchman in some
way officially connected with the French Consulate at
Smyrna had been very badly treated by his band, and
on that account the French Ambassador insisted on
Kattirdji Janni being imprisoned and treated in a most
rigorous manner (this I heard from the robber's lips).
He was then taken to a prison, and there, in a small
cell, was chained to the wall like a wild beast for seven
years. He was afterwards removed to the fortress of
Famagosta, where he now resides. Through the
intercession of some influential Turk, the Sultan, Abdul
Aziz, was induced to have him treated with more
lenity, and in i86g he was allowed the same freedom
as other prisoners of lesser note, though shackled
with a chain the links of which are five inches long,
three wide, and half an inch thick.
Through the entreaties of my wife, Aziz Pasha applied
in 1875 to Constantinople and obtained authority to
have these heavy chains replaced by much lighter ones.
Such was the man to whom our ladies were indebted
for their floral souvenirs of Famagosta.
Leaving Famagosta and continuing my journey in
the plain, I arrived after three-quarters of an hour's
ride at the ruins of the ancient city of Salamis. From
the position of this city towards the eastern end of
the island and facing the coast of Phoenicia, one would
expect to find in it more than elsewhere traces of
early Phoenician settlements. But this is not so. On
the contrary, Salamis, of all the cities of Cyprus, is the
most famous for its inclination towards the Greeks
and for its resistance of the Persians. Its history
Chap. VII.] SALAMIS. igg
seems to justify the tradition of its having been founded
by a colony of Greeks under Teucer, the son of
Telamon, king of the island of Salamis, who, the
story goes, refused to receive Teucer on his return
from Troy because he had not sought to prevent the
suicide of his brother Ajax. Upon this Teucer set
sail with his companions, and perhaps also captives
from the Trojan expedition, and arriving in Cyprus
selected this site for a town, and from affection to his
native island called it by its name of Salamis. Accord-
ing to Virgil (iEneid, i. 621), Teucer went first to Sidon
and there obtained the authority of the king Belus to
settle in Cyprus. But this is not in accordance with
the other legends, and it is impossible now to say
whether it may not have been an invention of the
poet's. Strabo says that the colonists landed on the
north coast, and if that is correct, they would probably
have crossed over the mountains to Salamis. At this
point the island is narrow. The legend says that
Teucer married Eune, a daughter of Cinyras, and that
from them sprang the line of kings of Salamis.
Another characteristic feature of Salamis was its devo-
tion to the worship of the great Hellenic god Zeus,
who was there styled Splanchnotomos, with reference
to the ceremony of inspecting the entrails of victims
offered for sacrifice.
Of the history of Salamis almost nothing is known
till we come to the time of the Persian wars, but from
that time down to the reign of the Ptolemies it was by
far the most conspicuous and flourishing of the towns
of Cyprus. I have already in the Introduction given a
short sketch of how Onesilus seized the government of
Salamis from his brother Gorgus, and set up an
obstinate resistance to the Persian oppression, under
which the island was labouring about B.C. 500. In the
end he was defeated by a Persian army, and fell in
200 CYPRUS. [Chap. VII.
battle, and it was about this time, if not also in conse-
quence of this defeat, that the dynasty of Teucer was
for a period removed from the government of Salamis.
As to the length of this period there is great obscurity.
It seems, however, to be certain that with the help of
the Persians, a Tyrian named Abdemon had seized the
throne, and not only paid tribute to Persia, but
endeavoured to extend the Persian power over the rest
of the island. To Salamis itself he invited Phoenician
immigrants, and introduced Asiatic tastes and habits.
So that apparently all previous efforts to give a firm
Hellenic character to the town were rendered futile.
But meantime there was growing up a spirited boy, who
traced his descent from the line of Teucer, and in whom
were combined the highest natural gifts. Bodily he had
no rival in beauty, or strength, or skill ; mentally he was
endowed with all that was necessary for a great leader.
Such is in brief the description which the ancients have
left us of Evagoras. Abdemon, the Tyrian usurper, saw
how the presence of this youth captivated the people of
Salamis, and took measures to be rid of him effectually.
But the scheme was discovered and Evagoras escaped
to Cilicia, where he gradually collected round his person
a band of fifty faithful friends, ready for any service to
which he might call them. Crossing from Cilicia they
obtained, during the darkness, entrance at one of the
gates of Salamis, and amid general alarm and con-
fusion, fought their way against great odds to the
citadel and seized it. There appears to have been
little further resistance. Evagoras became king, and
from the beginning to the end of his reign, spared
nothing to make Salamis a flourishing and powerful
city, among other things fortifying it, and improving its
harbour.
The ten years of war which followed, with its great
victories and equally severe defeats, must have tried
Chap. VII.] HISTORY OF SALAMIS. 201
even the large resources of such a town. Evagoras
died or was killed by a eunuch, B.C. 374.
The next period of interest in the history of Salamis,
was when, on the partition of the Empire of Alexander
the Great, Ptolemy and Antigonus made each extra-
ordinary efforts to obtain Cyprus. Ptolemy was repre-
sented by Menelaus, who held Salamis. The leader on
the opposite side was the son of Antigonus, young
Demetrius, who from his conduct of the siege of Salamis
on this occasion, obtained the title of " Poliorcetes," by
which he has since been known. Menelaus trusted to
the fortifications of the town, but Demetrius constructed
a colossal engine, known as the ** Helepolis " or ** city-
taker," 75 feet wide, and 150 feet high, moving on four
great wheels, having nine storeys, and containing over
200 hundred men. With this and battering-rams, he
succeeded in making a breach in the wall. But the
defenders made a stubborn resistance, and during the
night managed to set fire to the huge engine of war.
Demetrius was now obliged to turn for assistance to his
fleet. A naval engagement followed in which he was
victorious, and in consequence of this, Menelaus sur-
rendered in Salamis. From this time the town appears
to have lost its prosperity as well as its high position,
and to have gradually declined. A large part of it was
destroyed during the revolt of the Jews in the time of
Trajan. Afterwards, in the reign of Constantius Chlorus,
part of it sank into the sea, from the effects of an earth-
quake. This emperor is said to have erected in it many
new public buildings, and to have changed its name to
Constantia. In the middle ages it was eclipsed by
Famagosta.
At present it is nearly covered by sand drifted from the
sea-shore, where it lies to a depth of some ten feet. The
harbour and that portion of the wall fronting the sea,
are still easily traced. I measured the length of the
202 CYPRUS. [Chap. VII.
wall, and found it to be nearly 6850 feet. The area
of Salamis is thickly overgrown with thistles and tall
weeds, which, together with the sand, render the task
of inspecting it very difficult. The ground also abounds
with snakes, some of which are venomous, such as
the asp and others. I spent large sums of money at
this place on three different occasions, but with no
result in any way satisfactory. The ruins of Salamis
furnished building material for some of the mosques
and many dwelling-houses in Adrianople.
North of Salamis are two tumuli, the base of one
of which I reached by means of vertical shafts, and
there found a plain white marble sarcophagus, but so
damaged as to be worthless. A pickaxe had been left
behind by the diggers who had previously opened the
tumulus, perhaps some hundreds of years ago. North
of these tumuli are shown the prison and tomb of Sta.
Catherine, which have all the appearance of having been
an early Phcenician tomb, like that of Phaneromene at
Larnaca. A little distance further north is the church
of St. Barnabas, built, it is said, upon the spot where
the body of the saint was discovered, with the Gospel of
St. Luke on his breast. This church is held in great
veneration, and kept in good repair, although there is
now only one of the twelve original monolithic columns
standing, their want being supplied by columns made of
small stones and plaster, the original capitals being
retained in use.
Leaving Salamis, I rode eight hours along the sea- ,
shore, and reached the foot of the mountains of Carpass,
where I stopped near a village called Gastrudi. It con-
sists of about forty families. A small stream runs near
by. On the north side of a hill east of Gastrudi are
the circular ruins of an amphitheatre or temple, and on
another, near the sea-shore, a watch-tower. From this
point to Cape St. Andreas there are evidences of a dense
Chap. VII.] JOUKNEY TO CARPASS. 2O3
population. Many of the hills near Carpass are crowned
with ruined castles, but those which I visited had all
been erected in the middle ages. I found on these hills
several air-shafts and remains of aqueducts, similar to
those met with elsewhere in the island. Along the
shore are many cemeteries, the tombs of which are
among the oldest in Cyprus. Some are cut in the rock,
and others merely excavated in the earth. From Cape
St. Andreas as far as the village of lalussa, the ancient
remains which I observed seem to belong to a very
' early period in the history of the island, and have a
certain oriental character, but from lalussa along the
coast to Kormakiti the ruins are all decidedly Hellenic,
consisting of fluted columns of Ionic and Corinthian
capitals in pure white marble, which had been imported,
traces of piers, docks, artificial harbours, and other
remains of public works, evidently Greek. Eight years
ago on this side of the island 1 saw, half way up a hill,
two colossal lions, which had probably adorned the
gateway of a temple, but the last time I passed one
of the lions had disappeared, and the other lay broken
in pieces.
CHAPTER VIII.
PAPHOS.
Paphos founded by Phoenicians. — Temple of Venus mentioned by
Homer. — Its site near the shore. — Other Temple of Venus. —
Paphos built on an eminence further inland — City and temple
destroyed by earthquakes. — Temple rebuilt by Vespasian. — Re-
mains still visible. — Plan of the great temple. — Mosaic pavement.
— Rock-cut tombs. — Site of temple partly occupied by the small
village of Kouklia.
The site of this very ancient city, where was the
great centre of the worship of Venus in antiquity, is
now partly occupied by the small village of Kouklia,
consisting of about sixty houses.
Paphos was said to have been founded by Cinyras,
and whether or not he was a mythical character, it is
certain that the priesthood and supreme power in
Paphos was vested in a family of Cinyradse, who
claimed their descent from an ancestor named Cinyras.
The wealth of this priestly family was proverbial, and
that their official position continued to be one of high
dignity we see from the fact that at a later period when
the Roman Senate, at the instigation of Clodius, was
induced to issue a decree dispossessing Ptolemy of the
kingdom of Cyprus, and sent Cato to execute the order,
Cato offered him, in compensation for the throne,
the position of high priest. Few cities in ancient
times have been so much sung and glorified by the
Chap. VIII.] PAPHOS. 205
poets ; and does it not seem an irony of time to see,
to-day, cased in the walls of this miserable village, fine
architectural fragments in marble and granite, be-
speaking the wealth and high culture of a past age,
the cost of one of which must have been far greater than
the value of all the modern dwellings at Kouklia ?
Although this spot was the scene of great religious
events, and was otherwise important in the island, yet
neither are there more than a very few ruins existing
above ground, nor have the explorations I have directed
there at different times succeeded in bringing to light
anything of interest. I believe that this absence of ruins
can be accounted for in the following manner. Paphos
was several times overthrown by earthquakes. The
last time the temple was rebuilt, was by Vespasian, on
whose coins it is represented, but as nothing is said of
the rebuilding of the city, it is to be supposed that it
was left in ruins ; probably, therefore, during the long
period that Cyprus was under the Roman and the
Byzantine rule, a great deal of the decorative and archi-
2o6 CYPRUS. [Chap. VIII.
tectural material of Paphos was transported to the
other city, called Neo- Paphos, and used for its em-
bellishment. In the Acts of the Apostles it is spoken of
as the official residence of the Roman Proconsul, Paulus
Sergius, and was therefore the capital of the island.
By the time of the Lusignan Kings, Palaeo-Paphos had
disappeared, and its ruins under their reign were
extensively explored in search of statuary and other
objects of art, with which to decorate the royal castle
built in its vicinity. There is scarcely any ancient
tomb to be found of a date previous to the Roman
period, which had not been opened centuries ago. The
castle before mentioned was built by Hugh Lusignan,
at a stone's-throw south of the great temple, and is now
also in ruins. The only roofed portion of it is a little
Gothic chapel, used by its Turkish owner as a stable
for his camels and donkeys. I had always thought
it more than probable that this mediaeval building
was erected on the site of the royal palace of the
ancient Kings of Paphos, who having been at the
same time high priests of the temple of Venus, would
naturally, perhaps, have had their residence in proximity
to the temple. I had, therefore, a strong desire to
examine the foundations of the castle ; but knowing by
long experience that Turks of all classes are adverse to
archaeological researches in their grounds, I refrained
from even visiting the place, though I went several
times to Paphos to dig. I superintended excavations
there in 1869, for several months, with a score of
diggers, but without discovering anything of importance.
I repeated the experiment with the personal assist-
ance of Dr. Friederichs, of the Berlin Museum, with a
larger number of workmen, but with no better success.
Nevertheless I purchased in 1870 all the area of the
temple and that portion of the peribolos or outside wall
which was not occupied by houses.
EXCAVATIONS AT PAPHOS,
After spending a large sum without results, I became
convinced that only a government with ample funds at
its command could undertake to remove the many feet of
rubbish accumulated there by the successive rebuildings
of the temple. Without accomplishing this preliminary
work, which would be both expensive and uniemunera-
2o8 CYPRUS. [Chap. VIII.
tive, no hope can be entertained of unearthing any
objects of art belonging to the earliest Phoenician
sanctuary.
I paid two more visits to the ruins of Palaeo-Paphos,
one in 1874 and the other in the winter of 1875.
On one of these occasions I observed the owner of
the castle frequently watching my diggers and ques-
tioning them as to whether they were searching for
treasure. The invariable answer was in the negative,
but this did not seem to satisfy old Osman Aga. On
my last exploration in 1875, this Turk, after having
dogged me for a few days wherever I went, became appa-
rently convinced that I must be searching for gold, and
cautiously approaching me one day, asked if I did not
know of any treasure being hidden there^ pointing to
his ruined castle. This question delighted as well as
surprised me, and I told him I did not doubt treasures
were buried there, but the treasures I meant were not
such as he would have called by that name. His
religious scruples, however, vanished when I promised
him all the gold found in it. It was amusing to see
him standing the whole day watching the workmen
very closely, and expecting at every moment to see the
coveted treasure brought to light. I had two borings
made in the south-east corner of the castle, and found
that at thirteen feet below the surface the base of the
foundations was not yet reached. The next day my
workmen had only fairly commenced their work when I
was called out of my tent to see some very large stones
which they had laid bare. These stones, upon which I
soon perceived that the mediaeval castle had been built,
were doubtless the foundations either of the royal
palace of the kings of Paphos, or of some other im-
portant building. I was, therefore, very anxious to
ascertain how deep they went. My Turkish friend was
beginning to betray symptoms of impatience, and
Chap. VIII.] OSMAN AGA. 20g
seeing his courtyard encumbered with stones and
excavated earth, said to one of the diggers that if be-
fore sundown the treasure (of which he had promised
a small per-centage to them) was not forthcoming he
would not allow any more digging. Having been
informed of this, and knowing that during the day we
could not possibly reach the base of those foundations,
though we were then at forty-one feet below the surface,
I prevented Osman Aga from putting his threat into
execution in the following manner.
I had in my pocket at the time two gold coins of the
Emperor Heraclius, very common in Cyprus, and not
worth much more than their weight in gold. I called
the foreman apart, and, unobserved, passed to him
these two coins, telling him to do what the king of
Naples used to do at Pompeii when some royal per-
sonage came to visit his excavations, namely, to have
previously discovered objects reburied and afterwards
with much ceremony to have them rediscovered in the
presence of his guests. My foreman comprehended,
and in due course of time the coins were handed to the
Turk, whose small eyes glittered with pleasure, and of
course after that he was ready to have his old castle
pulled down in order to find more gold. I am not sure
that he did not watch the whole night at the mouth of
the shaft for fear that some of the treasure might be
surreptitiously extracted. We worked the whole of the
next day, and towards evening, at the depth of fifty-two
feet, reached the virgin soil. My object having been
attained, I concluded the excavations under the castle,
to the great disgust of poor Osman, who died some
months later fully convinced, I believe, that plenty
more of those gold coins c6uld have been found there
had I but been willing to continue digging. At the
depth of forty-seven feet, I found some broken jars
without any traces of colour upon them, and two
210 CYPRUS. [CHAP. VIII.
feet deeper some fragments of painted terra-cotta
vases.
The great Temple of Venus was situated on an
eminence, which at present is at
a distance of about twenty-five
minutes' walk from the sea. Some
parts of its colossal walls are still
standing, defying time and the
stone-cutter, though badly chipped
by the latter.
One of the wall stones measured
fifteen feet ten inches in length, by
seven feet eleven inches in width,
and two feet five inches in thick-
Fr,«n«n.ofTcm-<»i.Viu«. ness. The stone is not from
Cyprus, but being a kind of blue
granite must have been imported either from Cilicia or
from Egj'pt.
The temple, as rebuilt by Vespasian, seems to have
occupied the same area as the former temple, and was
surrounded by a periholos or outer wall. Of this a few
huge blocks only are now extant. On the west side of
this outer wall there was a doorway, still plainly visible.
Its width was seventeen feet nine inches. The two
sockets for the bolts upon which the door swung are of
the following dimensions : length six inches, width four
and a half inches, depth three and a half inches. The
south-east wall, I ascertained by excavating its whole
length, was 690 feet long. The length of the west side
I could only trace as far as 272 feet, its continuance
being hidden beneath the houses of Kouklia. The
length of the other two sides I was unable to ascertain
for similar reasons. The walls of the temple itself,
made of the kind of stone previously mentioned, but
not in such huge blocks, I was able to trace correctly,
by dint of patience ; and though very little is seen
Chap. VIII.] THE TEMPLE AT PAPHOS. 211
above ground, yet, strange to say, the four corner-stones
are still standing. The north-east corner-stone is cased
in a house of Kouklia, forming part of its wall ; that of
the north-west stands in a cross street of the village by
itself. Some European travellers have mistaken it from
its present shape for the emblematic cone of Venus.
The south-east corner stands also by itself in an open
field, where the Christian population of Kouklia burn
lamps and little wax candles, but in honour of whom, or
for what purpose, I did not enquire. The fourth corner-
stone likewise forms part of a modern dwelling-house.
The temple was oblong and of the following dimen-
sions: the eastern and western walls measure 221 feet;
and the two other sides 167 feet. I cannot vouch for
the exact measurement on account of the difficulties
I had to encounter, nevertheless the difference can
be of some inches only. The corner stone of the
north-west side has a hole in it thirteen inches in dia-
meter; a similar hole also exists in the south-west
corner of the outer-wall. As the temple at Paphos
possessed an Oracle, these strange holes which go
through the entire stone may have been connected
with it. This at least was the opinion of Dr.
Friederichs when he came to pay me a visit at Paphos.
From this spot, if a person stand upon this huge
perforated stone he can produce a clear and fine echo
of a phrase of three or four words, pronounced in a
moderate tone of voice.
In the area of the temple, at two feet four inches
below the surface I found a mosaic pavement wrought
into stars, meanders, and other designs, prettily com-
bined for effect, and composed of variously coloured
marble tessellae, white, yellow, red, brown, and rose.
Also in the court -yard of two private dwellings, always
within the boundary of the temple, pieces of the same
mosaic pavement were uncovered. Some three feet
p 2
212
CYPRUS.
[Chap. VIIL
beneath these mosaics, I found several large pedestals
of colossal statues, with Greek inscriptions engraved
upon them, and other pedestals were seen lying on
the ground, probably left there by former excavators.
Those which I discovered under the mosaic, are mostly
of the same kind of stone as the walls of the temple,
but of a finer grain. The inscriptions are all of the
Ptolemaic period. From this I argue that Vespasian
may after all have only repaired the Temple of Paphos,
Stale too Feet to t In^
•%
^
nk
;5
Ul^
N
r
Tir
Plan or Great Temple.
or if he rebuilt it entirely, it had been partly with the
former stones. I was anxious to ascertain the depth of
these foundations, and proved them to be six and a half
feet only; but upon having other borings made I
discovered another foundation beneath as massive as
those of the castle and evidently of the same period.
It is strange that while boring these holes, I did not
meet with any sculptured remains, and but very few
fragments of pottery.
Chap. VIII.] EXCAVATIONS AT PAPHOS. 213
*■
Two Christian churches, now both in ruins (one of
which was built within the area of the temple and the
other within the boundary-wall), the Lusignan Castle,
and the whole village of Kouklia, have been built with
the stones of the ancient city. Each house has a
sheep-pen, surrounded by a wall composed of these
ancient stones, piled one upon the other, without
mortar. One of the churches (the one within the
temple area) has several inscribed marbles incased in
its walls, which obviously had been so inscribed previous
to their being used for building material at the time
when the church was erected. All the pedestals I dis-
covered within the area of the temple I had deposited
in these two churches, as they were too heavy to be
removed further. I took however a paper impression
from each of them (see Appendix) . The neighbourhood
of Kouklia is full of ancient tombs opened long ago.
From the elevated position which the city of Paphos
occupied, its famous temple must have been visible
many miles out at sea. Gently sloping from Kouklia
towards the shore, there is a fine and fertile plain belong-
ing to the castle ; this plain must formerly have been
thickly wooded, and was doubtless the grove spoken
of by Homer. At the moment I am writing, it is
covered with ripe barley, and seems a sea of gold. A
few hundred yards from the coast are the remains of
another temple, the foundations of which are also
oblong. This must have been the Temple of Venus
built to commemorate the spot on which for the first
time the beautiful goddess is said to have appeared
to the Cyprians. It was here that the annual pro-
cession of pilgrims, coming from Neo-Paphos to visit
the great shrine, stopped to sacrifice before ascend-
ing the hill to visit the Sanctuary. Of this temple
there are two upright monoliths remaining five feet
apart, of the same shape as that described at p. 189.
214 CYPRUS. [Chap. VIII,
The height of these pyramidal stones, though to-day
only eleven feet seven inches above ground, is from
their base seventeen feet ten inches. The one best
preserved measures at the top three feet two inches by
one foot four inches, and at the base seven feet nine
inches by two feet six inches. These monoliths are of
a brownish granite, which is not to be found anywhere
in the island.
The river Bocarus, now called by another name,
still waters the plain, silently flowing a little south
of these ruins, and empties itself into the sea. The
stream is thickly covered by wild oleanders, myrtle,
and juniper, and is the favourite haunt of partridges
and francolins. In 1874 I explored these ruins and
uncovered several portions of the foundations of two
separate fabrics, one of which may have been the
habitation of the priests and priestesses of the temple.
At a few yards from the monoliths I disinterred two
large Doric capitals and fragments of triglyphs and
Chap. VIII.] ANTIQUITIES FOUND AT PAPHOS. 215
columns belonging to them ; one large rectangular stone
seven feet by five, probably used for sacrificial purposes,
and some pieces of clay ware. Between the two mono-
liths and a little west of them, half buried in the soil,
there is what appeared to me to be a sepulchral cippus,
or it might have been an altar. It is three feet four
inches high and two feet in diameter, with a square
hole at the top ten inches and a half deep and seven
inches wide.
This temple was small. The artificial plateau upon
which it was built, and which reveals the foundations of
two separate edifices, is limited to sixty-eight yards. I
could not find either in the vicinity of these, or any-
where in the plain, any sepulchres coeval with them.
Some 750 yards south-east of this temple, beyond the
river Bocarus, some peasants of Kouklia by chance,
about fifteen years ago, laid bare several vaults, in
which they found, according to my informant, "won-
derful things," but I was unable to learn what those
wonderful things were. I visited the spot and saw that
in reality there had been tombs there. I surveyed the
ground, and discovered a cluster of fifty occupying
about Half an acre. These graves had all been opened
and ransacked long ago. In one of them I found
a large Greek amphora intact, over three feet high,
with both of its handles inscribed, and two terra-cotta
horsemen. From the head of Helios, stamped upon
one handle, and the rose on the other, it is easy
to recognise this amphora as having been made in
Rhodes, and probably used for the exportation to
Cyprus of oil, or other thick liquid, as it would have
been too porous for wine.
East of Kouklia commences that range of lofty
mountains, the highest of which, now called Troodos,
was known as Mt. Olympus. Kouklia is one of the
poorest villages of Cyprus. Its male inhabitants always
2l6 CYPRUS. [Chap. VUI.
leave their homes in the summer months to go else-
where in search of work and food.
The dance, music and song, and the sacred pro-
cessions of three thousand years ago have been replaced
by the shrill coo-coo-vaie of the owl and wild cries of
other night birds, and the piteous bark of famished
dogs left behind by no less famished masters, to roam
the deserted village in search of carrion. This is the
Paphos of to-day !
Amphora wiih iwo circolu itampi on handle*.
CHAPTER IX.
No ruins of Arsinoe on site mentioned by Strabo. — Garden and Bath
of Venus. — Neo-Paphos founded by Axx:adians. — The Turks
oppose diggings by force. — St Paul's column. — Rock-cut tombs.
— Imprisonment of two notable Turks. — Cape Acamas. — Ruins of
ancient town Soloi, its theatre. — Discovery of temple with statues
and inscriptions. — Lapethus. — Discovery of temple with statues
and inscriptions. — Cerynia now a fortress. — No remains of ancient
city. — Scene with the Turks. — Abbey of Lapai's. — Cerynia to
Aphrodisium. — Ruins of four ancient towns near the seashore. —
Harbour and temple of Aphrodisium. — Mediaeval castles of Buffa-
vento and Kantara. — The hermit Simeon. — Cythrea. — Discovery
of two temples. — Statues and inscriptions. — Nicosia. — Tombs of
the oldest period. — ^The lepers.
Having brought my unprofitable researches at Paphos
to a termination, I resolved to visit the ruins of Neo-
Paphos and the northern coast, as far as the site of
Aphrodisium, and there crossing the mountain range
into Mesaoria to return by way of Cythrea to Larnaca.
After an hour and a half of an easy ride northward
from the ruins of Paphos, our course being along the
edge of a plain which stretches down to the sea and
across the slopes of hills covered with underwood of
juniper, we reached the village of Koloni. In some of
these hills are found the "asbestos," specimens of which
were shown to me by peasants of the vicinity, and the
** diamond of Paphos ; '' the latter, however, is but rock
crystal of a rather superior quality. These hills yield
2l8 CYPRUS. [Chap. IX.
fossil shells in large quantities, and earths of different
colours, green, carmine and yellow, are met with now
and then in the district, but the earth called ** terra
d'umbra," which is so abundant in the neighbourhood
of Larnaca, and forms one of its articles of export, is
found nowhere here.
We passed on our right the villages of Mandria,
Dimi, and Ascelia, represented by small clusters of
huts. I observed at three or four places on the route
foundations of ancient structures just emerging from
the surface, but of small dimensions. The ancient
route from Neo-Paphos to the great Sanctuary of
Paphos very probably followed the same line on which
we now were, and it is not unlikely that the ruins
just mentioned may be the remains of the small shrines
which existed along the roadside.
Ten minutes' ride from Koloni, in a north-west di-
rection, is leroskipo, consisting of a small group of
dwelling-houses ; the name being evidently a survival
of the ancient Hieroskepis, *' Sacred Garden," that is,
the well-known Garden of Venus, who in Cyprus, as
well as in Athens, was regarded as a goddess of spring
time and flowers. Cupid lived with her in Cyprus, and
it was from Cyprus that the first flush of spring burst
upon the earth. There is a large cave which seems to
have been artificially scooped out of the rock, through
which a spring makes its way, and after filling the
cavern as a reservoir overflows and forms a little rivulet
sufficient to water the neighbouring fields ; this is known
as the ** Bath of Aphrodite.'' I must say he would be
obdurate indeed to the charms of Nature who would not
be captivated by the great beauty of the spot. The
ground generally slopes gently towards the sea, but
here it seems to have been cut into large plateaux
or terraces, which are* surrounded by a thick grove of
olive trees apparently many centuries old. Among the
Chap. IX.] NEO-PAPHOS. 2ig
olives is a sprinkling of carob trees, which with their
dark green and lustrous foliage form a striking contrast
to the pale hue of the olive leaf. In close proximity to
leroskipo are a number of rock-cut tombs, all opened
long ago, but no vestiges of buildings are visible.
We spent twenty minutes more in our saddles, con-
tinuing in the same northerly direction, and then we
reached the site where once stood the royal city of Neo-
Paphos. Judging from the great amount of debris
scattered over many acres of ground, this city must
have contained a population of 20,000 or 25,000 souls.
It was originally the settlement of a Greek colony of
Arcadians led by Agapenor, as we learn from the
testimony of Pausanias (viii. 5, 2) and Strabo, but
whether these Arcadians had found a Phoenician town
existing on the spot cannot be ascertained. The
original name was Erythrae, according to Stephanus
Byzantinus, and it was probably from its connection
with Paphos proper, from its being the starting point
of the processions to the Temple of Venus at Paphos,
that the name of Erythrae was gradually superseded by
Neo-Paphos. In the Iliad (ii. 6og) Agapenor is given
as the leader of the Arcadians in the Trojan expedition,
bringing to it sixteen vships, and we are told by Pausanias
(viii. 5, 3) that in the storm which scattered the Greek
fleet on its return from Troy, the ships of the Arcadians
were driven to Cyprus, where the leader Agapenor
founded Neo-Paphos. Agapenor and his Arcadians
were accredited with having introduced copper mining
into the district, but there can be no doubt that the
mines had been profitably worked by the Phoenicians
long before the period of the Greek colonization. A
distich handed down by Pausanias says that Laodice, a
daughter of Agapenor, dedicated a peplos to the goddess
Athena Alea at Tegea in Arcadia by way of showing
her affection for her native country. Probably the
220 CYPRUS. [Chap- IX.
peplos was embroidered, and was a specimen of the high
skill in this art which Cyprus had attained in early
times.
Very few architectural remains are to be found
among the heaps of loose stones collected by the
owners of the ground, so as to admit of some crops
of barley being raised on the fields, and though Neo-
Paphos looks as if destroyed but recently, yet, with
the exception of a few columns and insignificant pieces
of walls, nothing is now standing of the ancient city.
To have made excavations here on an adequate scale,
would have been much too costly for my means;
but even had it been otherwise there was an obstacle
in the way which rendered the exploration of that
locality on my part a matter of impossibility. The
ground belonged to several Turks of the town of
Ktima, a short distance east of these ruins, where is
the official residence of a Caimakam, a Cadi, and a
Greek Bishop. The Turks there are more uncouth
and fanatical than anywhere else in Cyprus, and I
had some evidence of this on several occasions. In
1868, I sent a party of my diggers from Larnaca in
charge of a foreman to make some experimental
borings here, but they were stoned by the Turks,
and compelled to run for their life. In the subse-
quent year, after the assurance of the Pasha, and a
stringent letter from him to the Caimakam of Ktima
to see that my men should not be molested in their
diggings, I sent another party, accompanied by my
dragoman Besbes; nevertheless a few days later they
were attacked by a Turkish mob, forced to leave their
tools behind and run away. My dragoman received in-
structions from me to prosecute the ringleaders before
the Cadi, but they were so leniently treated by this
functionary, that the punishment was more calculated
to encourage than to deter them from similar off'ences ;
Chap. IX.] PUNISHMENT OF TWO TURKS. 221
under these circumstances, and finding that without my
continual presence the men would not be unmolested,
I had abandoned the idea of further diggings in this
district.
The Caimakam of Ktima having been informed of
my arrival at Neo-Paphos, sent an officer with four
policemen to place themselves at my disposal. After
having loitered about in search of sculptures and in-
scriptions for a couple of hours or so, I set out for
Ktima. We had reached the western outskirts of the
town when we met two Turks of the better class.
Noticing our cavalcade, one said to the other, ** Who
is that dog ? " ** Some great giaour, may Allah
confound him!" answered the other, and they con-
tinued their route. As I was sufficiently acquainted
with the Turkish language to understand what they
had said, I called the officer of the guard and ordered
him to arrest the two effendis. The officer, though
with evident reluctance, obeyed. It is impossible for
me to describe the abject demonstrations of outward
repentance which these two Turks showed when they
found out that I had understood their conversation.
"Consolos Bey, pardon, pardon, Consolos Bey," they
exclaimed, and taking hold of my stirrups began kiss-
ing my dusty boots, repeating many times the word
** pardon ;" but it was of no avail. I decided to give a
good lesson to them and to the other Turks of Ktima
for the former ill treatment of my diggers, so I had
them marched off between the four policemen through
the bazaar of Ktima, which naturally created a sensa-
tion, and as the hour in which the Turkish tribunals
are open was passed, they had to be locked up for the
night in the common jail.
The Caimakam, as soon as he was informed of the
occurrence, called at my lodgings and warmly inter-
ceded for the liberation of these men from prison, they
222 CYPRUS. [Chap. IX.
being, as he said, two "notables" of Ktima. I told the
Caimakam that had they been two Turkish peasants,
I would have acceded readily to his request, as their
ignorance would have pleaded in their favour, but as
they were '* Turks of distinction " they had no such ex-
cuse, and I insisted that they should be punished accord-
ing to the Turkish laws ; and my dragoman was in-
structed to explain to the Caimakam that if he dared to
release them without my consent, I would have him
dismissed from his official position. Mehemet Bey had
been appointed Caimakam of Ktima chiefly on a letter
of recommendation I had given him for the Pasha, and
he knew how easily his removal could be obtained.
Shortly after his departure, two veiled Hanoums (ladies)
were announced as the wives of the prisoners; they
commenced as usual by wailing, kissing, the pavement,
and begging for the release of their lords and masters.
One of them wore a very thin veil over her face (this
in Turkey is an evidence of beauty). I felt some pity
for the thinly veiled lady, but nevertheless remained
inflexible.
In the morning, at the usual hour when the Cadi
held his sittings, my dragoman brought the case before
his lordship (who was a negro), so forcibly, that after
hearing the witnesses for the prosecution, he dispensed
with hearing the prisoners, and condemned the two
effendis to one month's imprisonment.
I remained at Ktima for a week, and in the course of
this time was able to convince myself that the ruins
of Neo-Paphos contained no important monuments or
fragment of monument worth the trouble I had taken.
I could not of course make a regular excavation, with-
out obtaining the permission of the owners of the
fields, but I made some slight diggings at two places
without hindrance. One of these places was the site
of a temple, of which three large granite columns
Chap. IX.] EXCAVATIONS AT KTIMA. 223
were still standing. I discovered the bases of nine
other columns at a few inches below the surface, still
occupying their original position ; all around are
strewn architectural fragments which had belonged to
that structure. The other spot is near a broken
column of white marble still standing, and about seven
feet high, to which it is asserted St. Paul was tied
and whipped when he came to preach the Gospel in
this city ; but this tradition is, so far as I know, current
only among the Greek population of Ktima. In this
locality there are also shafts of columns, some blocks
of triglyphs, and volutes lying on the ground, probably
also the remains of a temple. A silver coin of Ves-
pasian, with the Temple of Paphos represented on it
(but whether meant for that of Paphos or for a temple
of Neo-Paphos is not known) and a few Roman lamps,
were all that I found during my week's exploration at
Neo-Paphos.
A little to the north-east, and half way between these
ruins and Ktima, there is a rocky eminence sloping
towards the sea, and called Palaeo-Castro, the surface
of which is perforated with thousands of ancient tombs,
some cut vertically, and others horizontally in the
calcareous rock. Some are made to contain only one
body, while others are large enough for a score or more.
These graves are all evidently pre-Roman. I had the
rubbish removed from one of the largest, and found
it to be an oblong building, with an atrium supported
by three monolithic columns roughly hewn out of the
limestone, and with a court-yard in front of it. The
tomb is divided into three chambers which communi-
cate inside with each other, but have each a separate
entrance. They have a large number of niches, seven
feet by two, each to contain one body. Near the wall
facing the doorway of each chamber there is a low plat-
form hewn in the rock, on which apparently stood a
224 CYPRUS. [Chap. IX.
sarcophagus, but nothing of it now remains. The court-
yard contains also several single graves, but all have
been opened long ago. This must have been the family
sepulchre of a great personage, and possibly of one of
the kings of Paphos.
On the eve of my departure from Ktima, I had the two
Turks released from prison, after they had begged my
pardon in the presence of the Caimakam, the Greek
Bishop, and other officials. In this case I was obliged
to make a virtue of necessity, for I knew very well that
as soon as I was out of the town they would have been
released. After that salutary lesson the Turks of Ktima
nicknamed me Seitun {the devil), and have had ever since
a wholesome fear of him in my person.
When in 1876 I revisited Neo-Paphos for the second
and last time, I was in company with two Americans,
Professor Isaac H. Hall, who has been the first American
to contribute to the decipherment of the Cypriote cha-
racters, and General S. W. Crawford, a gallant officer
of our regular army. We had scarcely left the heights
of Kouklia (Paphos), when we saw a troop of soldiers,
headed by their officers with drawn swords, advancing
towards us. At a little distance they formed into line,
and on our approaching presented arms. After which
Yusuf Aga, the captain, advanced and informed us that
Chap. IX.] NEO-PAPHOS REVISITED. 225
he had received orders from the Caimakam of Ktima to
proceed as far as Kouklia, and on meeting the
** Consolos Bey " {i.e., the devil,) to escort him to Ktima.
I saw that the lesson had borne good fruits.
From Ktima to Cape Acamas, the way along the
sea-shore is not practicable because of the steepness of
the cliffs. That route failing, we took our course over
mountains destitute of vegetation, and without meeting
with any ancient vestiges. After passing a village
called Floraca, the ridges begin to be covered with
brushwood, but only as far as the village of Lemba.
At this place a peasant conducted me to the sea-shore
through a passage in a craggy ravine, to see some rock-
cut tombs, which are near a headland called Drepano,
but there are no remains of ancient habitations in the
neighbourhood, though the quantity of tombs there
must have belonged to some ancient town not far off.
A few hundred yards east of these tombs, are the
crumbling walls of an early Greek church. At Criso-
nerki the village priest insisted that on a flat-topped hill
overlooking his village, there were the ruins of a Palaeo-
Castro, and several inscriptions. Although much
fatigued, I nevertheless ascended the steep limestone
peak, and found on it the remains of another Greek
church dedicated to Aghios Jorgos ; the inscrip-
tions were modern names cut with a knife on the
limestone, or written with a lead pencil ! This kind of
disappointment I have had to experience more than
once. From Crisonerki I was obliged to retrace my
steps to Lemba, as there is no pathway northward
among those rugged hills suitable for mules. After
leaving Rhodos and Critoterra, two small miserable-
looking villages situated on low flat hills with an upland
plain in front of them, studded with wild olive trees, we
soon emerged from a ravine into a plain watered by a
stream, which gives its name to a large village called
Q
226 CYPRUS. [Chap. IX.
Krysokon built on its eastern bank. Half an hour north
of this there is another village called Poli, but consider-
ably smaller, and situated on the western bank of the
stream. This little village occupies a portion of the
site of the ancient city of Arsinoe. The scarcity of
remains is explained by its proximity to the southern
coast of Cilicia, from which, I am told, boats come
loaded with timber, and after discharging their cargo
it has been the practice of these boatmen to load their
crafts with the hewn stones of the district. I was also
told that some inscriptions and sculptures were carried
away by these boatmen into Caramania. Strabo places
in this neighbourhood a temple and a grove of Jupiter,
but I could not find any traces of either.
The hills west of Poli contain many rock-cut tombs,
and in the fields east of the ruins are many oven-shaped
tombs, excavated in the earth like those of Idalium, and
containing drab-coloured pottery, roughly made without
any painting or ornamentation, a few Egyptian scarabaei
and amulets in a green glazed clay, and copper coins
with two eagles on one side, and the head of a Ptolemy
on the other. The rock-cut tombs are all open, but
appear to me to be much older than those existing in
the fields east of Poli. From this place, following the
tortuous windings of the sea-shore, we journeyed west-
ward until we reached a secluded thickly wooded spot,
rendered famous by Ariosto, and called ** Fontana
Amorosa;" at that place there seems to be a mineral
spring, judging from the iron rust seen on the stones
washed by the water. In the immediate neighbourhood
of Cape Acamas, between two curiously shaped conical
peaks, I discovered the ruins of an ancient town which
I do not see mentioned in Strabo, Ptolemy, or other
authors. Perhaps they are only the remains of some
ancient village of no importance.
Near this Cape we found several hundred vultures
Chap. IX.] SOLI. 227
feasting upon the carcase of a mule. They took no
notice of our approach, and we could have ridden over
them if our animals had not been frightened and refused
to advance. I had a good opportunity to remark them.
They are very large ; some entirely gray, but the greatest
number are brown, their heads and necks thickly covered
with a white down, and not bare, as those I have seen
elsewhere. The smell of musk or something like it which
they emitted, almost exceeded the stench of the carrion.
On returning from the Cape, I pitched my tents out-
side the town of Poli, and remained for two days exploring
some tombs while waiting to renew our supply of bread.
On the third day w.e proceeded eastward, always among
the mountains, till we reached the village of Pyrgas, where
we encamped for the night. No ancient vestiges were
met with from Poli to this spot. From Pyrgas, continuing
to travel among the mountains, we reached a few ware-
houses and a Turkish Custom-house near the seashore,
called Karavastasi, a few hundred yards south of which
is the site of the ancient royal city of Soli or Soloi.
According to the story of Plutarch (Vit. Solon. 26)
the Athenian legislator Solon, who as we know, spent
his latter years in Soli, had on a previous occasion
visited Cyprus, and was then the friend and guest of
Philocyprus or Cypranor the king of Aipeia, a rocky
and comparatively barren place among the hills here.
Solon pointed out the fertile and beautiful plain below,
and advised his friend to transfer his people to it.
Philocyprus took the advice, and named the new town
from his friend Solon. This fiction, very obvious in
itself, is done away with by the occurrence of the name
of Soli among the Cypriote monarchies which sent
presents to Esarhaddon a century before the time of
Solon ; at the same time it would seem that the Greek
settlers in this district of the island were in fact chiefly
Attic. From the inscribed Assyrian cylinder on which
Q 2
228 CYPRUS. [Chap. IX.
the names of the kings occur, Mr. George Smith
(History of Assyria, p. 130) was unable to decipher more
than three letters of the name of the King of Soli. He
read them to Kin . . . which by conjecture may have been
the favourite Cypriote name of Cinyras. In the " Records
of the Past," iii. p. 108, this name is read Erili.
In historical times Soli was, next to Salamis, the
most important city of the island, while its share in the
revolt against the Persians, and its stubborn resistance
of them, reflect the highest credit upon it. It refused
to join Salamis under Evagoras, when along with the
Athenians under Conon it entered on a league with
Artaxerxes to crush the Lacedemonians. But after-
wards (B.C. 391), when in consequence of the con-
federacy, Evagoras sought to make himself master of
the whole island. Soli combined with Amathus and
Citium, sent to the Persian Court to ask Artaxerxes for
help against Evagoras, and this they succeeded in
obtaining. It is probable that Soli derived considerable
wealth from the copper mines near it. '
The city stood on the left bank of the river Clarios,
now a winter torrent, and covered the northern slope of
a low hill (detached from a higher range) and extended
over the field at the base of the hill to within a few
hundred yards of the shore, where are still to be seen
vestiges of its harbour. Midway up the slope is a
semicircular stone structure, which appears to have
been a theatre. In a former visit I uncovered at the
lower part of it some stone steps or seats which
extended round the semicircle. Only the lower part
now remains. For the past ten years, to my own know-
ledge, this ruin has been a quarry to the corn-dealers of
Lefca, furnishing all the stones they required for the
construction of their warehouses on the beach at
Karavastasi, from which point is shipped all the grain
raised in the north -wevStern district of the island.
Chap. IX.] EXCAVATIONS AT SOLI. 229
On the same slope are the foundations of a circular
building with a cave beneath it, which seems to have
been a little temple. These foundations consist of
huge blocks of limestone quarried from the neighbour-
ing hills. In the area of
this ruin I found, besides
several fragments of columns
and capitals in marble and
granite, an oblong marble
slab with a Greek inscrip-
tion (see Appendix), much
injured, but containing the
names of Soli and of the
Pro - Consul Paulus, most
probably the Sergius Paulus
who is mentioned in the
Acts of the Apostles. In
the same area I discovered
a headless figure of Cybele
in pure white marble. These
maybe the ruins of a temple
of Cybele, whose worship
would he at home, so to
speak, here in the neighbour- Figunofuyoeic. HLirmu-
hood ofthe rich copper-mines
of the district of Soli. Most of the stones have been
piled up by the owners ofthe ground in order to raise a
field of barley. The slopes of the hills west of Soli and
the plain at the foot of them are full of ancient tombs.
In this plain the site of each tomb is easily recognised
by an unhewn stone, which, in some cases, is just seen
emerging from the soil, and in others is found from a
few inches to three feet below the surface. The tombs
on the hills have all been opened long ago. They are
very large, and mostly cut out ofthe limestone of which
the hills are formed. Those on the plain contain, in
230 CYPRUS. [CHAP. IX.
most cases, only the skeleton of one person, and are of
the usual oven-shaped style. The objects occasionally
found in them are terra-cotta
I jars, of the very lustrous
red colour peculiar to the
so-called Samian ware, but
with rare exceptions they
are without any ornament.
These must have been the
graves of poor people.
South-east of these ruins,
in a gorge of the mountains,
s»°^ v^K, there is an upland plain,
on which is built the village of Lefca, the residence of a
Chap. IX.] LEFCA (AlPEIA ? ). 23I
Mudir, or local Governor ; the town is surrounded by a
great number of gardens full of orange, lemon, pome-
granate, and fig-trees, with an abundant supply of water.
In this part of the country the soil is very rich, and
adapted for almost any kind of cultivation. Many shrubs
and climbing plants are seen everywhere growing wild,
among which the iris is common. The slopes of the
hills are covered with olive-trees, which produce an ex-
cellent oil; the ash and the carob trees are also not
unfrequently met with, but the latter spreads specially
in large bushes, some of which measure 120 feet in cir-
cumference ; the oleander and myrtle grow likewise in
thick bushes, among which is seen the anemone and
clematis, and a great variety of other wild flowers, with
the names of which I am not acquainted.
West of the village of Lefca, on the crest of a steep
hill, are the ruins of a very ancient town which
has been correctly, I think, identified by travellers as
Aipeia, of which, according to the story of Plutarch,
Soli was a colony, but these ruins are not very exten-
sive, and they have to-day no name ; the necropolis
belonging to it is on the western slope of the same hill,
and continues along the ridge of two other hills con-
nected with it. The objects I found in one of the tombs
are precisely like those at Soli, namely, jars and vases
of a lustrous red colour.
From Lefca we soon entered the plain of Mesaoria,
and reached Morfou, two and a half hours distant.
This is the largest village in Cyprus at the present day,
and numbers from 550 to 600 houses. Its inhabitants
are mostly Christians. Just outside the village is a
large Greek convent, in the courtyard of which I
remarked a number of very fine marble Corinthian
capitals, which adorn shafts of wooden columns in
support of a roof of mud. Attached to this convent
is a school for boys, of whom there are about 200
232 CYPRUS. [Chap. IX.
from SIX to twelve years of age. The convent has
a Gothic church and some walls belonging to a
mediaeval building, probably a Latin convent built in
the time of the Lusignans.
From Morfou I started for Lapethus, a distance of
five hours' ride, still keeping among the mountains.
Midway from Morfou there is an upland plain, and on
it a large Greek convent, with a cluster of houses called
Aghios Pantelemoni. Here resides the Bishop of
Cerynia, a fine old man, who, whenever I passed that
way, was kindness itself to me. Having been educated
at Venice he has always had a special affection for
Italians, and when he happened to know of my coming
he would have the bells rung and all his staff of
priests sent out to meet and escort me to his residence,
where a warm welcome and a patriarchal repast, more
abundant than select, were sure to be in waiting. On
account of his great age he seldom leaves his apartments,
but on these occasions he would insist on being carried
down stairs, and be at the door of his convent to
receive me, this being considered a high token of
esteem. My followers liked to halt at Aghios Pante-
lemoni, as they were sure to receive provisions enough
to last them for a week. My last visit to the Bishop
was in 1876, accompanied by my two American friends.
The presents were more bountiful on this occasion,
consisting of seven dozens of eggs, two lambs, six
chickens, four pots of honey, twenty loaves of new
bread, and sixty little cheeses, with a large bag of
tobacco leaves. Escorted by two mounted priests we
started for a little cluster of stone houses high up in the
mountains, called Larnaca of Lapethus. The place is
so named from the large quantity of rock-cut tombs by
which it is surrounded. The ancient city of Lapethus
was just on the other side of the range of mountains at
the foot of the northern slope, and there is no doubt
Chap. IX.]
LARNAGA OF LAPETHUS.
^ii
that these rock-cut tombs must have belonged to it.
On the slope of a conical rock, which at a distance
seems to be artificial, ten or fifteen minutes' walk from
this ** Larnaca,'* there is a bilingual inscription in
Greek and Phoenician of the Ptolemaic period, which
has been considerably damaged by a tourist who copied
it some years ago. In its vicinity I discovered the ruins
of a small oblong temple, and the ground is strewn
with many fragments of terra-cotta statuettes and stone
statues, mostly life-size and of Cypriote workmanship.
I dug here for five days in 1872, and laid bare several
Ivory Bas-relief. Height, 5 inches.
large granite pedestals, with Greek inscriptions engraved
on them (see Appendix).
The modern town of Lapethus and its ancient ruins
are, as I said before, on the opposite side of the moun-
tains, but to get there we were obliged to wind our way
234 CYPRUS. [Chap. IX.
through several gorges and ravines, at the cost of an
hour and a half of our time. Lapethus was one of the
ancient kingdoms of Cyprus, and appears to have been
founded by one or the other of the two bands of Dorian
colonists under Praxander and Cepheus. The modern
village of Lapethus is watered by a stream of that name
which passes along the centre of the town, and has suffi-
cient volume of water to work a mill the whole year
round. The inhabitants are chiefly Turks, and get their
living by the cultivation of the mulberry and the silk-
worm. The village is rather scattered, and appears larger
than it is in reality ; it is built a little south of the ruins
of the ancient city. Near the sea-shore is a Greek
convent called ** Acheropiti," and two Latin churches
in ruins, which had been built in mediaeval times. In
the church of Acheropiti I saw a marble tombstone, on
which there is sculptured a knight crusader. There
are also the remains of a fine mosaic pavement. The
convent yard is encumbered with shafts of columns, fine
Corinthian capitals in white marble, and many other
sculptured fragments dug up from the ruins of Lapethus.
A large pedestal of white marble has a long Greek
inscription of the time of Tiberius, whose name is
several times mentioned in it (see Appendix). A little
south of this convent stands a curious structure, evi-
dently very old. The roof has now disappeared. It
is built of enormous blocks of stone, and has the ap-
pearance of being a mausoleum, though the priest of
Acheropiti says it is known as the palace of a king, and
in proof, as he thought, showed me in the interior some
holes where iron bars and rings had existed, to which
captives were chained. It is not improbable that at a
later period it had been used as a prison.
From Acheropiti we started for Cerynia, which is a
fortified town, and the second stronghold of the island.
Like Lapethus, the original foundation of Cerynia is
Chap. IX.] CERYNIA. 235
traced to the Dorian colonists under Praxander and
Cepheus. It formed one of the royal cities of the
island. I passed near this town several times during
my northern excursions, but never had the curiosity
to enter it. The village itself, with the exception of
the citadel, is a small dirty place, almost exclusively
inhabited by Mussulmans, who, with the garrison, enjoy
a very bad reputation, second only to that of their co-
religionists at Neo-Paphos. In 1875, some of these
soldiers entered the house of a Greek peasant, and
during his absence used violence to his wife and two
daughters. They were still pillaging the house when
the owner arrived, and on his own threshold was
brutally murdered. Some very strong remonstrances
made collectively by the Consular corps induced the
Pasha to enquire into the matter, and three culprits
were arrested and sent to Nicosia in chains to wait
their trial. In 1876, when I visited the locality, the
wife of the murdered man came to see me, and I learned
from her that the soldiers had not yet been judged,
and that great efforts were being made to have them
set at liberty. I would not have stopped at Cerynia
had I been alone, but having with me General Craw-
ford, I thought it would afford him pleasure to inspect
those old fortifications. As he had preferred con-
tinuing his route with the baggage train to stopping at
Acheropiti, I instructed Mustafa to go with him to
Cerynia, and to select a suitable place on the outskirts
for our encampment, while, accompanied by Professor
Hall, I made a detour of about an hour, and visited
the ruins and the convent above mentioned.
On our approaching Cerynia, we met one of our
muleteers much excited, saying that a fight had taken
place between my men and some Turks of the village,
and that the American '* milordo " had sent for the
Turkish police. I hurried on to the encampment, and
235 CYPRUS. [Chap. IX.
found the mules still packed, the tents not pitched, and
General Crawford waiting for my arrival with two
policemen. On enquiring what had happened, I soon
found that the grove of trees which had been selected
by the General for our encampment belonged to a Turk
living in a house adjoining it, and he did not wish my
men to encamp there. Some high words had passed
between my faithful Mustafa and the owner of the
ground, and Mustafa, losing his temper, drew his sabre,
and with the flat of the blade administered a rather
severe punishment. The Turkish women, from their
latticed windows, seeing their master so treated, came
out in his defence, and began, like true viragos, to fight
both with their tongues and by throwing stones at my
men, to the amusement of General Crawford, who sat
on a stone looking on like an umpire. The muleteers,
as brave as their ancestors, soon ran away, while
Mustafa held the ground alone. I did not dismount,
but at once proceeded to the residence of the Governor
of Cerynia, and had the owner of the ground and his
several wives arrested and locked up in the fort. Then I
obliged the Governor, Cadi, and the other Turkish offi-
cials to come to our encampment to make an apology
to the American ** milordo '* for what had happened,
which they did very meekly, and without any opposi-
tion. But as I knew the character of the Turks of
Cerynia, I requested the Governor to order a strong
force of soldiers and police to guard our encamp-
ment ; and thus we spent our night at Cerynia, in our
tents, surrounded by the soldiers of the Crescent, and it
seemed to us to be old times again, when, encamped on
the Potomac river, we were on the " qui vive " for some
night attack of the Confederates.
Early in the morning I had again a visit from the
Cadi of Cerynia, preceded by a quantity of fruits, honey,
cheese, etc., as presents ; he came to inquire how we had
Chap. IX.] SCENE AT CERYNIA. 237
spent the night, and if he or the Caimakam could do any-
thing for us. The Cadi at that place is a young man, but
as fanatical, I was told, as the rest of his profession ; how-
ever, he behaved himself very properly on the occasion.
After breakfast we started to visit the ancient site of
Cerynia, which is a little west of the present town, and
more inland. For a considerable distance along the
western shore of Cerynia there are to be seen here and
there large caverns excavated in the rock ; some, though
not all, seem to have been tombs.
South-east of the town, about an hour's ride from it,
and midway up the mountains, stands an imposing
mediaeval ruin, called ** Lapais." It was an abbey,
built by King Hugh III., and belonged to the Latin
Church, but was destroyed by the Turks when they
captured the fortress of Cerynia. It is a fact worth
noticing that all the churches belonging to the Latins
were destroyed by the Turks when they took pos-
session of the island. In Jthis I have no doubt they
were gladly assisted, or at least encouraged, by the
Greeks, who detested the Franks even more than the
Turks. This abbey occupied one of the most pictu-
resque and lovely spots of the whole island ; still
standing is a large hall 100 feet long, 32 feet wide, and
about 40 feet high, which was probably the refectory of
the French abbots ; beneath it is another apartment of
like dimensions divided into two chambers, the vault of
which is supported by massive columns. In the court-
yard, piled the one upon the other, are two large marble
sarcophagi of late Roman work, one of which has
garlands of flowers, nude figures, and large bulls' heads
in bold relief. Both bear evidence of having been used
for a long time as troughs. Upon the lintel over the
door of the great hall are engraved three shields ; one
represents the Jerusalem cross, another the royal arms
of the Lusignans, and the third a lion rampant. The
238 CYPRUS. [Chap. IX.
Gothic chapel of the abbey has been partly repaired
with sun-dried bricks and plaster, and is now used by
the Greeks living in the neighbourhood as their place of
worship ; portions of the courtyard serve as their
cemetery.
On two high peaks in this range of mountains stood
two feudal or royal castles, one called St. Hilarion,
and the other Buffavento, which served as state prisons
and places of refuge to some of the Latin Kings of
Cyprus. They were both dismantled by order of the
Venetian Admiral Prioli.
Having descended from the abbey into the plain
we moved north-eastward, always among fertile and
well-timbered slopes, to a village called Acatu ; before
reaching it, however, and being then in close proximity
to the sea, we came upon the remains of an ancient
town called Mulasha, where there are a few broken
shafts of columns and large stone sarcophagi lying on
the surface and broken. These ruins are not extensive,
but they are very difficult to explore, the underwood
which covers them being high and very thick. Besides,
at the commencement of our operations we met a kufr
or asp, which disappeared under a slab, but the sight
was sufficient to deter my diggers from exploring that
spot.
Acatu, famous for its cheeses, is built on the slope of
a conical peak at about twenty minutes' walk from the
sea-shore ; the calcareous rock has been scooped by the
present inhabitants into small caves as dairy rooms.
The fields in the neighbourhood of the village are
irrigated by several streamlets, and the slopes of the
surrounding hills are well studded with carob and olive
trees. The chief occupation of the inhabitants is that
of cheese making. They have large flocks of sheep and
goats, which find plenty of food among the mountains ;
the cheeses, though unpalatable to me, are highly
Chap. IX.] THE SITE OF APHRODISIUM. 239
esteemed by the natives, who consume an immense
quantity of them ; the surplus is exported to Port Said,
Alexandria, and Smyrna. The priest of the village
assured me that the number of cheeses made averages
two millions a-year ; it is true they are very small, and
do not weigh over half a pound apiece.
Continuing my journey from Acatu eastward, I re-
marked vestiges of several ancient towns, all situated
near the sea-shore ; first at a place called Macaria ;
in this neighbourhood there is an old Greek church,
built with materials taken from the surrounding ruins.
On a previous visit to it in 1869, I was shown by the
priest of Acatu, who was acting as my guide, a granite
slab with a Greek inscription encased upside down in
the wall. When I came again in 1876, and wished to
take a paper impression of it, we found it had been
removed ; but when, or by whom, the priest did not
know. The next ruins are called Gastria, after
which come the remains of Pergamos, near the village
of Flamondi. Twenty minutes farther east is a head-
land called Daulos, where a modern geographer has
placed the site of Aphrodisium, but the paucity and
small extent of these ruins cannot, I should think, be
those of the royal city mentioned by Strabo. It is more
probable that this city was further east, some twenty-
five minutes' ride from Daulos, where there are visible
traces of a close harbour and pier, and a few hundred
yards from the shore a plateau presenting the remains
of an extensive town, with Corinthian capitals, and
fluted columns in marble and blue granite, lying half
buried in the soil.
This is the only spot which I can identify with
Aphrodisium, and it agrees better with what Strabo
says: ** from Aphrodisium, where the island is narrow,
the journey to Salamis is 70 stadia." There is a little
village not far back from these ruins, called St. Nikolo.
From this point eastward the cliffs abut steeply upon
the shore, and on this account the coast journey cannot
be performed on mules. We ascended the high peak
on which once stood the fortress of Kantara, now
called by the natives Castello delle Cento Camere.
It was dismantled by the Venetians when they took
possession of the island. Some of the ruins are still
roofed and in a good state of preservation. What a
labour it must have been to convey
to this height all the stones neces-
sary for the construction of such a
huge building !
On a lower hill west of Kantara
stood a small detached fort, some-
thing like an outpost, to guard the
approaches. On this spot is a little
chapel dedicated to the Panaghia,
still in good condition. In the last
century some Greek monks were
living here, but when the walls of
their cells began to fall they left
the place and the district. A hermit
called Simeon now inhabits the
ruins, and has done so, he told me,
for the last forty-five years. He is
over eighty years of age, and is
sioneSuuit jfni.oinch^. absolutcly alonc, not having even a
dog, sheep, or goat as his companion ! When I visited
the place in 1869 he told me his story in a few words,
and it is a sad one. He was born at a village near Con-
stantinople. Before he was twenty-five years old his
father died and left him a thriving business. At thirty he
married a young girl of his village, and everj-thing seemed
to go well with him, when one day to his misfortune the
youthful and handsome face of his wife was remarked
by a powerful Turk living in the neighbourhood. Dis-
Chap. IX.] SIMEON THE HERMIT. 241
honourable proposals were made to him, which he
indignantly rejected. Soon after he was arrested by
order of this Turk on some false accusation ; his wife
disappeared and became an inmate of this Turk's
harem ; the hermit's house was burnt, and all his
property destroyed. After being kept three years in
a prison without trial or judgment, he was at last
released on the condition that he should leave Con-
stantinople for ever. He was put on board a vessel
bound for the Archipelago, and landed at Cyprus a
penniless and wretched man for life. Having lost all
his manhood, he roamed like a wild beast among the
mountains, living on herbs, olives, and wild fruits until
he found near Kantara an old rock-cut tomb which
became his habitation for a while. Some time after-
wards he took possession of this chapel, wherein he
sleeps and hoards his provisions, consisting of a little
wheat and olives which he raises in the vicinity of his
abode.
242 CYPRUS. [Chap. iX.
Once a year a few Greek devotees of the Panaghia
ascend the mountain to visit the chapel, and thus for
several hours he is brought .into contact with some of
his fellow beings, who bring him tobacco, matches,
and old clothes as presents. One of these days the
poor octogenarian will breathe his last, untended by
any human being, like a wild beast, and the pilgrims
will find the corpse of poor Simeon. Such has been life
for him ! I visited the chapel and saw about a dozen
china dishes which had been encased in the walls when
the plaster was fresh, and are consequently several
centuries old ; no doubt a collector of such articles
would be delighted to possess them. Before descending
into the plain I asked the hermit what I could give him.
Would he like to have money, coffee, sugar, or tobacco ?
He preferred matches, which pleased him more than the
other things I gave him.
After encamping for the night on the outskirts of the
village of Tricomo, where I saw no ruins, I was in the
saddle early next morning, and travelling west the whole
day, reached Cythrea just as the sun was disappearing
behind the mountains. Cythrea is a thriving little
village surrounded by gardens full of fruit trees, and
traversed along its length by the river Pedeus, which
in its course keeps several mills busy at work grinding
wheat for half the island.
The ruins of ancient C\threa are half an hour's walk
east of the village ; they occupy the ridge and slope of
a flat hill, and judging from some foundations of
habitations which I laid bare, the city must have ex-
tended also into the plain confined between two small
streams which a little further on had united and emptied
themselves into the Pedeus ; now they are quite drJ^
The place is strewn with broken* pottery, chiefly of- a
bright red colour, like that found at Soli, many small
fragments of sculpture in stone, and also some pieces
Chap. IX.J CYTHREA. 243
of iridescent glass. Here I discovered the site of
two oblong temples, one of which I partially explored.
The foundations of both consist of very large blocks of
limestone. In the peribolos of the one which I ex-
plored were found a round altar of blue granite, two
heads in marble, and several fragments of stone and
terra-cotta with Cypriote characters engraved upon
them (see Appendix). On the site of the temple itself
I found some fluted columns and several Greek inscrip-
tions incised on pedestals of marble and granite, which
244 CYPRUS. [Chap. IX.
from their dimensions must have belonged to Hfe-size
statues (see Appendix).
All the fields round the village are irrigated and in
a good state of cultivation, for which reason I could not
excavate on a large scale without first purchasing the
ground. I have, however, very little doubt that if
extensive diggings were to be made they would yield
good results. The inscribed marbles were too heavy to
carry away, and after having copied the inscriptions,
I permitted the diggers to take them to their village,
Nouni, a few minutes' ride south of this spot, and to
keep them until further orders from me.
From Cythrea I went to Nicosia, the modern capital
of the island. The first rays of the sun were striking the
high minarets of Sta. Sophia when we reached the
city-gate leading to Famagosta. The drawbridge was
not yet lowered, and the few minutes, which we had to
wait, I spent in strolling about, examining the moat and
walls of the city, where for many centuries was the
residence of the Lusignan kings, and on the ramparts
of which some of the noblest blood of Italy was shed in
defending it from the attacks of the present possessors.
Nicosia does not appear to have been a town of much
importance in antiquity, when its name was Leucosia.
On the roadside were several lepers loudly asking for
alms. The condition of these poor outcasts deserves
to be mentioned here. They live about a mile from
Nicosia, and number about 200, of whom forty are
Turks. They have no houses, but live in ancient exca-
vated tombs and in a few sheds built by themselves.
They are supposed to receive each a loaf of bread a-day
from the Turkish Government, but were it not for the
Archbishop of Cyprus, who sends them food, I am
assured they would have all died long ago, as the local
Government does not do anything for them. At every
fair or festival in the island they are to be seen en-
Chap. IX.] LEPERS AT NICOSIA. 245
camped by themselves near the roadside, entreating the
charity of the passer-by. The average age of these
wretched beings is from forty to sixty ; though I have
remarked among them young boys and pretty girls also.
When a person becomes suspected of this malady, he
is placed under constant watch, and is daily examined
by his neighbours. When the faintest symptoms of
leprosy appear, all relationship and friendship are at an
end, all future intercourse with him ceases, and he is
driven from his native place, provided with a quilt and
some food, to find his way to the lepers' village, seldom,
if ever, with a word of pity, consolation, or hope.
As far as I have been able to ascertain, leprosy in
Cyprus only exists among the lowest class, and I
noticed also that the number of lepers increased in
those years when, on account of the drought, there was
greater scarcity of food than usual.
Two cases were brought to my knowledge of persons
having been driven away from their villages on mis-
taken symptoms of leprosy. After several months' resi-
dence among the lepers they naturally wanted to return,
but so much opposition was raised by the villagers
among whom their families lived that they were obliged
to leave the island in search of a new home.
I have seen one instance in which there were three
lepers of the same family. A boy nineteen years old,
his mother about forty-five, and a little girl. The most
disfigured of the three was the boy (it seems that this
disease developes itself more rapidly in young people) ;
his nose had entirely disappeared, as had also portions
of the chin, leaving bare the lower teeth ; both eyes
were closed, never to see the light again, and only very
small portions of his fingers remained ; yet his mother,
who had been among the lepers some eight years longer,
was not half so ill-treated by the disease, though she
had her hands wrapped in filthy rags, a sign that they
246 CYPRUS. [Chap. IX.
were too hideous to be shown ; the little girl, fair but
pale looking, had only joined her mother a few weeks
before ; she showed me her tiny fi^gers, which were as
yet only a little bent and stiff. I know of facts that have
happened among these lepers which would make even
the most hard-hearted shudder. No distinction of
creed exists among them, no religious consolation is
given them, and no funeral obsequies are performed
over them.
Pococke states that Nicosia is built on the site of an
ancient city called Tremitus : this latter, however, was
farther south, and nearer to Golgoi, where a village
called Tremitussa now stands. At this place are the
unmistakable remains of an ancient town, and there
exists an extensive necropolis, from which I extracted
glassware, sepulchral bas-reliefs and pottery of the
Roman period.
At the close of the fourth century, when Cyprus be-
came a province of the Eastern Empire, and Christianity ,
began to spread itself rapidly everywhere, Cyprus had
thirteen bishops, among whom is mentioned one ot
Tremitus and another of Nicosia, showing conclusively
that both these cities were in existence at the same
time.
Nicosia nevertheless seems to have been built upon
the ruins of some very ancient town, as in its immediate
neighbourhood, at a place called Aghios Paraskeva,
exist many tombs, in which I found little clay figures of
the Assyrian Mylitta, cylinders in serpentine, scarabs,
vases in the shape of animals, and also a large crater
with two bigae and other figures painted upon it,
similar to vases found at Amathus and Maroni, the
ancient Marium. No objects were found in these
tombs of a period later than 500 B.C., nor any indica-
tions that at this place there might have been a Greek
settlement. Nicosia is enclosed within high massive
Chap. IX.] NICOSIA. 247
walls built under the Venetians, which, like those at
Famagosta, are kept by the Turks in tolerably good
repair. After sundown no person is allowed either to
enter or to leave the city without special permission
from the Governor-General. When such a case
happens the soldiers are put under arms, then the
drawbridge is lowered with as much pre-
caution and ceremony as if we were still
in mediaeval times !
With the exception of the church of Sta.
Sophia, now converted into a mosque,
half-a-dozen palaces and a few churches
in a dilapidated condition, there is nothing
in Nicosia which would attract the atten-
tion of an archKologist. I confess that
whenever I had to visit that city I always ^'i^-'in^v^^.
felt a disagreeable sensation as of personal restraint,
not unlike that experienced, I suppose, by a man when
he is shut up in prison. It may be said, with some truth,
that Nicosia is a very large prison, since the Ottoman
Government sends here from every part of Turkey its
worst criminals and most obnoxious political offenders.
248 CYPRUS. [Chap. IX.
The population of Nicosia is reckoned at 16,000,
two-thirds of which are Christians. It possesses a
large and well-stocked bazaar and several silk manu-
factories, but the streets are narrow, badly paved, and
extremely dirty. The seraglio, where the Pasha re-
sides, is a huge quadrangular building two stories high,
in sad want of repair, with a large court-yard enclosed
by a wall twenty-five feet high ; this was the palace ot
the Venetian Governors of Cyprus, and probably served
in former times as the royal residence of the Lusignan
kings. The ground floor is used as a prison, and by
dense packing is made to contain as many as a thou-
sand convicts, guarded by a strong force of police.
In the centre of this square is a forlorn -looking tree,
from the branches of which many wretches have been
hanged by order of the Governor-General of Cyprus.
At the present day the Governor cannot put a man to
death without special orders from Constantinople ;
when this order arrives he calls a policeman, whose
duty it is to pass a rope around the victim's neck, and
without more ado to drag him to the fatal tree, where
he is left hanging for several hours after his actual
death.
CHAPTER X.
AMATHUS.
Amathus founded by Phcenicians. — Worship of Tyrian Hercules. —
Human sacrifices to Kronos, capture and destruction by Richard
king of England. — Ruins, city walls, rock-cut tombs. — Mode of
digging. — Stone built tombs at depth of forty-five feet. — Fatal
accident to Dr. Siegismund. — Discovery of large sculptured sarco-
phagus, its similarity to Lycian Frieze in British Museum. —
Bronze shield with repouss^ work. — Silver bowl with engraved
design. — Search for copper mines. — Fasula. — Discovery of temple
statues and inscriptions. — False alarm in camp at night. — Site of
Tamassus. — Return to Amathus. — Removal of sarcophagus. — Visit
of the Governor of Limassol. — Ruins of Aghios Tychona. —
Departure for Curium.
On the south coast, at the distance of twelve hours'
ride from Larnaca, and two from Limassol, stood the
city of Amathus, which like Paphos and Citium, is
known to have been originally a Phcenician settlement,
and to have retained even more distinct traces of this
origin than did the other two cities, such, for example,
as its worship of the Tyrian Hercules, under the name of
Malika or Melicertes, as the Greeks called him. A
representation of this Melicertes will be found on the
sarcophagus found by me at Amathus, and engraved
Pis. xiv., XV. A colossal statue representing the same
subject was found during my absence from Cyprus at
this place, and is now in the Ottoman Museum of St.
Irene, at Constantinople. It was said also that in early
250 CYPRUS. [Chap. X.
times the Amathusians had been in the habit of offering
human sacrifices to Kronos, which circumstance is
obviously to be traced to an origin among the Phcem-
cians, who notoriously offered human sacrifices. Again,
the word Amathus (Ajj-aOov-;) appears to be identical
with Amathe, the name of a town in Syria, said to have
been founded by Amath, a son of Canaan, and it has
been suggested by Engel that some of the original
settlers at Amathus in Cyprus may
have come from Amathe in Syria.
There was also a fortified place on
the Jordan called Amathus, and
while thus there appears in the name
itself to be good reason for tracing it
to a Phcenician origin, we have also
the legend which says that it was
Amathus, a son of Hercules — no
doubt the Tynan Hercules — who
founded the town. Another legend
derives it from Amathusa, the mother
of Cinyras, which again would con-
cede its Phcenician origin. The
purely Greek derivation, however, is
from afj-'adoeii, " sandy," or from
Amathus, a son of a Cypriote King
croiwan ion. Aeries.
The very great antiquity of the city may be gathered
from the fact that Tacitus calls it vdustissima, and that
its inhabitants believed their first ancestors to have been
Autochthones. From the way in which it is associated
with the priestly family of the Cinyradae, who were ac-
credited with having introduced the worship of Aphro-
dite from Syria into Cyprus, it would seem as if they
had first settled at Amathus, and afterwards transferred
the centre of their power to Paphos. It was from
Amathus, not Paphos, that Agamemnon drove Cinyras
Chap. X.] SKETCH OF AMATHUS. . 25I
on account of his breach of faith, and from this it may
be inferred that Amathus was then the seat of govern-
ment of Cinyras. Agamemnon, it is said, colonised
Amathus with a body of his followers returning from
Troy. In time Amathus became eclipsed by Paphos,
in which the priestly Cinyradae ruled over temporal as
well as spiritual matters. But a branch of this
family remained at Amathus, and though they did
not there possess temporal power, they seem to have
stood next to the king in point of importance, while
in religious matters they seem not to have been, like
the rest of the island, subject to the priesthood of
Paphos.
In historical times the Phoenician or oriental spirit
of Amathus was several times strikingly displayed, first
when Onesilos, heading the strong faction of those who
desired to resist the oppression of the Persians, was
declared King of Salamis in place of his brother, and
called upon the other towns of the island to join
him. Amathus refused, and had to sustain a siege
from him and his followers, b.c. 500. When Darius
was informed of this he sent an army to overpower
Onesilos ; who meantime obtained large reinforcements
from the lonians of Asia Minor and their Athenian
allies. In the battle which ensued in the plain of
Salamis the Persians were victorious, and Onesilos
himself fell.
Again, when Evagoras, the King of Salamis, was
maintaining with Athenian assistance his apparently
hopeless resistance to the Persians, we find Amathus
joined with Citium and Soli, sending to Artaxerxes for
help against him (b.c. 391). That a contingent from
Amathus took part with the Persians in the fearful
conflicts which ensued with Evagoras appears to be
beyond doubt.
This spirit, however, seems to have been changed.
252 CYPRUS. [Chap. X.
B.C. 332, in which year we find Ancfrocles, the King of
Amathus, present in the Cypriote fleet which supported
Alexander in his siege of Tyre. Under the Ptolemies,
and in the later history of Cyprus, Amathus appears to
have lost the ancient importance which it enjoyed when
ruled by its own kings, and when its natural allies the
Persians were all powerful.
On the hill on which it stood, nothing is now visible
but a vast amount of stones, plaster, and broken pottery.
Even the hill itself is fast losing its form, while the
rock of which it is composed is being cut away to be
shipped to Port Said, bringing to the merchants of
Limassol a profitable return. From the great amount
of d6bris which covers the surrounding fields, for the
most part untilled, Amathus, it would seem, though
small in area, must have been a thickly populated city.
Originally the upper part of the hill had been encircled
by a wall, remains of which are now scarcely perceptible ;
portions, however, of another wall of a later period may
especially be observed on the southern side looking
towards the sea, and following the sinuous windings of
the hill. I found imbedded in this wall pieces of terra-
cotta jars and fragments of granite columns, which had
been used as building materials. On the southern side,
portions of it ran as far as the shore. It is probable
that the square-built ruin at the southern end of the
hill formed a gateway, since, between the city and the
sea-shore, there was, and still is, the high road to
Paphos. On the crest of this hill I dug at several
places until I came to the solid rock, but failed to
discover any sculptured remains of importance. I
found, however, sufficient evidence to convince me that
most of the building materials of what I call the Phoeni-
cian city had been used for the construction of the later
Greek buildings.
Amathus, when subsequently inhabited by a Greek
Chap. X.] LATER HISTORY OF AMATHUS. 253
population, spread itself in a more south-easterly
direction, and nearer to the sea-shore, protected by the
second wall which I spoke of, and though at the time of
its destruction by King Richard of England it was still
the seat of the last Duke of Cyprus, Isaac Comnenos,
it had already lost most of its splendour and importance.
The following inscription, which is cut in the rock on
the east side of the hill, mentions an arch as having
been erected here at the private expense of a Lucius
Vitellius Callinicus, but there are no traces of it to be
found at the present day.
AOYKIOZOYITEA
AIOZKAAAINIKOZ
THNANABAZINTAY
THNZYNTHA+IAI
EKTOYIAIOYKATEZKEY
AZEN (*)
It was on the top of this hill that M. de Vqgu6
divscovered the large stone vase which is now deposited
in the Museum of the Louvre. Near the same spot
.there are fragments of what seems to have been a
similar vase. In the immediate vicinity of the site
where these vases were found, I dug up on a former
excursion three large shafts of columns, of a hard
bluish stone, resembling granite. I left them half
buried in the soil, with the intention of examining
them on a future occasion ; but when I returned, the
columns had disappeared, having been broken up for
building purposes. There are thousands of stones on
the top and sides of this hill, which would equally well
suit the purpose of these builders, but it seems that
* After my arrival in England I found that this inscription is
published in the "Corpus Inscript. Graecarum," No. 2644, and in Engel,
i. p. 115.
254 CYPRUS. [Chap. X.
they are possessed by some infatuation or evil mania
for destroying whatever bears the traces of man's
handicraft. It is the more to be regretted, since among
the ruins very few architectural or sculptured remains
are now found.
On the side of a rocky hill, west of Amathus, and
separated only by the bed of a winter torrent, I saw hun-
dreds of tombs cut in the rock ; they had been mostly
opened and ransacked long ago. Though tombs are to
be met with in different localities at Amathus, it is in
the district along the sea-shore that they are found in
greatest abundance. Here they are oven-shaped, like
those of Idalium, and are excavated in a sandy soil at a
depth varying from three to five feet. Most of them
were found to contain only one body. The objects
discovered within were glass, always broken but beauti-
fully iridescent (this being generally the case when
the tombs. are near the sea) ; terra-cotta lamps of the
first and second century of our era ; large amphorae
similar in shape to those found at Pompeii ; no gold
jewellery of any value, and now and then, a mortuary
stele bearing a Greek name followed by the usual
formula of XPV^''^ X^V^» ^^^ ^" shape similar to those
discovered at Larnaca. Of another kind are the tombs
cut in the rock, in the adjacent fields east and west of
Amathus. They are oblong, and cut horizontally in
irregular tiers ; none are over seven feet in length, and
the majority of them scarcely six. They all seem to
have been opened, probably centuries ago, and as I
said before, are now fast disappearing.
A third group of tombs is situated in a field north-
east of Amathus, which is encircled by low hills form-
ing a natural amphitheatre. They contain sarcophagi
made either of white marble, probably imported from
Greece, or of calcareous stone from the quarries of
Cyprus.
Chap. X.] TOMBS AT AMATHUS. 255
I examined nearly a hundred of these sepulchres, and
found them all built of finely cut stones, presenting a
much more handsome appearance than any other class
of tombs which I have seen in the island. They lie at
a depth of 40 to 55 feet below the surface of the soil,
and it is very difficult to get at them, owing to the
circumstance that the entrances face in different direc-
tions ; yet in spite of this difficulty there was not one
which had not been previously opened and rifled. Some
have only one chamber, others two, and others again
four. In building these chambers, huge stones, some
measuring twenty feet in length, nine feet in width,
256 CYPRUS. [Chap. X.
and three in thickness, have been employed, but the
average size is — length, fourteen feet ; width, seven
and a half feet; thickness, two feet. So admirable
are the joints of the masonry that in some cases it
is difficult to find traces of them. The tombs are of
two different shapes: one with a flat roof and square
walls ; and the other having a roof in the form of what
we call in the American army, a "field-officer's wall-
tent."
These tombs, the construction of which must have
been very laborious and expensive, may have be-
longed to the royal and aristocratic families of the
city. Those of but one room have always one, often
two, and sometimes three sarcophagi inside. When
one only, it is invariably found placed in the centre of
the room ; when two, they are placed to the right and left
of the entrance, with their heads towards its wall. When
there are three sarcophagi, two are found placed as
before stated, to the right and left, and the third near
the wall opposite the door. The position of the sarco-
phagi never varies, whether the tombs have one, two,
or four chambers. In one composed of two rooms, I
counted as many as ten sarcophagi. The entrance
room had a flat roof, and the inner one a pointed roof.
PLATE XIV.
\
i OF MARBLt SARCOPHA)
Chap. X.] SARCOPHAGI AT ANEATHUS. 259
Four sarcophagi were deposited in the first, and six in
the second. Their relative positions were the same as
that just described. The five extra sarcophagi were
superposed upon the other five. All were made of the
calcareous stone of Cyprus, without any bas-reliefs.
No tombs were discovered with more than four rooms ;
and of these with four chambers I found only two.
One of them contained the finely sculptured sarcophagus
here engraved, plates xiv., xv.
This tomb consisted of a square room used as an
antechamber, and three lateral rooms, to the right and
left, and opposite the entrance door. The sculptured
sarcophagus was in the centre of the inner room, facing
the entrance, and lay there in a heap broken to pieces
by the vandals who centuries ago had opened this
tomb, and being perhaps disappointed in not finding
the treasure they sought, wreaked their vengeance on
this rare gem of art.
There is a very striking similarity between the
26o CYPRUS. [CHAP. X.
sculpture of this sarcophagus and an archaic frieze
found at Xanthus in Lycia by Sir Charles Fellows, and
now in the British Museum, of which an engraving is
here given. It is obvious from the regularly recurring
square holes for the protruding dentils, that the Lycian
frieze has formed the external decoration of one of
those tombs common in Lycia, and this is confirmed by
the two doorways with Sphinxes, which belong to the
same building as the frieze, and are placed at either
end of it. Many doorways similarly formed were
found by me at Amathus.
On the Lycian
frieze is repre-
sented a proces-
sion advancing to
the right, at the
head of which is a
biga. This is fol-
lowed by a horse-
man, dismounted
and standing at
the off side of his horse. Next comes a biga driven
by a youthful charioteer, and conveying an old man
bearded, draped and seated. This biga is followed
Chap. X.] LYCIAN FRIEZE IN BRITISH MUSEUM. 263
by a mounted horseman, behind whom comes a pro-
cession on foot, consisting of first a group of three
youths wearing chiton and himation, and carrying a
long spear over the left shoulder. These are followed
by two youths similarly draped, and carrying shield and
spear. There were apparently three figures in this
group also, but only part of the third remains, there
being here a break in the frieze. How much of the
original may be wanting cannot be ascertained. After
this break there is a draped youth, standing by the side
of a couch or bier, of which only the end remains ; only
one foot of the figure which had been laid on it is visible ;
at the extreme left stands a youth, apparently a slave,
wearing a chiton girt up, and holding in his hand a
cloth of some kind. At his feet stands what appears
to be a caldron, or it may be a stool. The two slabs
which seem to have decorated the ends of the tomb, and
have each a doorway cut through them, are triangular
at the top. At each side of each doorway is a seated
Sphinx. On the triangular top of one of them, which
is more complete than the other, are figured two lions
confronted. These Sphinxes confronted may be com-
pared with those on the stelae found at Golgoi, and
engraved p. 115. The figures in the frieze are tall and
thin in their proportions, and of a pure Greek type ;
their dress, an under chiton of ribbed stuff, and over it
a himation wrapped closely around the figure, except
on the right shoulder, is also purely Greek and of a
slightly archaic time, similar to the draperies on the
Harpy tomb ; the bodies of the horses are long, and the
legs slim and very carefully modelled ; their manes are
hogged, but on the top of the head is a knot in the
shape of a crescent, precisely similar to that seen in
horses in the Assyrian friezes. Except in this point
the Lycian frieze is purely Greek, and of a very refined
workmanship. On the Amathus sarcophagus it will
264 CYPRUS. [Chap. X.
be seen that the horses have the same top-knot, but
much larger, more in the shape of an open fan ; and
that the group of a figure holding a parasol over the
head of a seated figure is an essentially Oriental
motive. The same motive however occurs in the
Lycian sculptures from the Nereid monument ; and
the oriental personage there represented is supposed
to be the Persian Satrap of Lycia. Possibly this is
also a Persian Satrap who is figured on the sarco-
phagus from Amathus. The other figures, their dress,
armour, and horses, are as purely Greek as on the
Lycian sculptures. Both processions would seem to
have been part of funeral obsequies ; when however we
come to the sculptures on the two ends of the sarco-
phagus, we meet with what it is difficult, if not
impossible, to find an analogy for either in Greek or
Assyrian art. On one end there is a nude figure of
Venus, as represented in many clay specimens now
in the New York Museum, standing to the front and
repeated four times side by side. At the other end are
four similarly repeated figures, which have been sup-
posed to represent Melicertes the Phoenician Hercules.
Or, as Mr. King suggests, they may be the Phoenician
Pataiki whom Herodotus (HI. 37) describes as being
figured in the form of Pygmies. I found the same
figure in terra-cotta attached as an upright handle to a
lamp on which is a Cypriote inscription. As regards
the four figures of Venus, perhaps the nearest approach
to them as an artistic composition is the familiar group-
ing of the three Graces. It is true that the Graces, as
we know them, are three distinct persons ; that is, they
are three sisters ; but the number of them varies, as in
Athens, where they were only two, and the fact of
sisterhood itself points to a unity in the original idea.
Whatever the explanation may turn out to be, the quad-
ruple representation of Venus and Melicertes on the
Chap. X.] SCULPTURE OF LYCIA AND CYPRUS. 267
sarcophagus is at present extremely curious. The lid,
which is also in many fragments, has two Sphinxes at
each end confronting each other, similar to those on
the Lycian frieze.
In connection with the close resemblance of this
sarcophagus with the Lycian frieze above described, it
should be remembered that there is no great distance
between the shores of Lycla and those of Cyprus, and
Lid Df Mitble Sanophatius.
that the conditions of art in the one country might
reasonably be expected to resemble those of the other
in some points, especially as both Lycia and Cyprus
had a mixed population, of which a considerable por-
tion was Greek. In the still undeciphered language of
Lycia there are several letters identical with those of
the alphabet of the recently discovered Cypriote, while
others differ very little.
The border of ornament sculptured at each end of the
two sides of the sarcophagus has a strongly Assyrian
character, which is also the case with regard to the
border of lotus flowers along the top. With reference
268 CYPRUS. [Chap. X.
to the Assyrian influence on Lycian art I may quote
what is said by Layard (Nineveh, ii. p. 291) : "The
Persians introduced into Asia Minor the arts and reU-
gion which they received from the Assyrians. Thus
the Harpy tomb and the monument usually attributed
to Harpagus at Xanthus, and other still earlier remains,
show all the peculiarities of the sculptures of Persepolis,
and at the same time that gradual progress in the mode
of treatment— the introduction of action and sentiment
and a knowledge of anatomy, which marks the distinc-
tion between Asiatic and Greek art. . . . There is one
monument, however, from Xan-
thus, which particularly deserves
notice from its connection with
Persian and Assyrian art and
religious emblems. I allude to
the fragment of a tomb in the
British Museum, on which is
represented a figure struggling
with and piercing a ' rampant
Hon. The sculpture is so pecu-
liarly Assyrian in its treatment
TcmH;«uV:«f™miin.T™b.i — identical representations being
found on the monuments and
cylinders of Assyria — that there can be no doubt as
to its origin." There are also two other monuments,
discovered at Golgoi, which present a very striking
resemblance to Lycian art. They are two oblong
steps or stools ; the one having a bas-relief of the
Lycian Chimaera, and on the other a group of a
lion devouring a bull, which may be compared with
the group of a lion devouring a stag on one of the
archaic friezes from Xanthus. These stools are figured
p. 159, and had before been engraved alone with the
great sarcophagus in the Atti della Reale Accademia di
Torina, vo!. xi. pi. 4-5.
f
Chap. X.] SARCOPHAGUS AT AMATHUS. 269
In the chambers adjacent to that in which the great
sarcophagus was found were two plain sarcophagi, one
in white marble and the other in calcareous stone, both
of which had been greatly damaged. The discovery of
this tomb by previous explorers seems to have been
due to mere chance, as an opening was found pierced
through the roof, by which the descent had been made.
y Once inside, the door would be apparent, and would
be used as an exit. At what period this had occurred,
it is difficult to determine, though some rude figures
traced upon the walls, seemingly with lamp smoke, of a
brownish colour, and presenting in one case a likeness
of a knight, would indicate the presence of soldiers of
the army of the Crusaders. Whoever they were, it was
evident that they had endeavoured to expel the foul
air of the chambers by lighting fires, the ashes of
which, along with pieces of carbonized wood, were
found on the pavement. The fact that these pieces of
unburnt wood became pulverised under the slightest
pressure of my fingers, would also indicate that this
previous visitation of the tomb had taken place a con-
siderable time ago.
The roofs of the four chambers are flat, and each is
composed of three large stones. The entrance chamber
^ is nine feet seven inches in height, thirteen feet four
inches in length, and twelve feet three inches wide.
This tomb was discovered at a depth of thirty-nine
feet and a half beneath the surface of the soil. The
three chambers are each twelve feet nine inches long,
seven feet ten inches high, and twelve feet nine inches
wide. The pavement is formed of oblong stones from
three to four inches thick, and varying from one foot
and a half in length, which are as carefully joined
together as those of the best modern pavement in
Cyprus.
The sarcophagi were all placed on the pavement.
270 CYPRUS. [Chap. X.
except in one tomb, in which I discovered two sar-
cophagi, one of them being of fine white marble, and
having sculptured upon it a female head of colossal
proportions, in early or archaic Greek style, and the
other was of calcareous stone and plain. Both were
raised ten inches above the ground, and supported on
six flat stones, three at each end. In the wall near
the head of the stone sarcophagus, there was a niche i
five inches in length, the same in width, and seven
inches deep, the interior of which had been blackened
by the smoke of an earthenware lamp, which it still
contained.
The usual height of the doorway of these tombs is
four feet ten inches, and the width three feet nine
inches ; the doorway which forms the entrance of the
tomb is closed by a massive stone from the outside.
In one instance I found the closing stone unusually
large, measuring four feet ten inches in width, by five
feet ten inches in height. My men worked nine days
at this tomb, having dug to the depth of forty-nine feet,
in three different places, before the exact position of the
entrance could be ascertained. When a corner of the
huge stone came in view, and its position assured them
that it had never been removed, nothing could exceed
their delight. The great size of the stone and its 4
apparently intact condition, raised their hopes very
high, and aided by the promise of a liberal reward they
laboured for some time with great enthusiasm, believing
that the wealth of old Cinyras was contained behind it.
Alas ! for a diggers' dream ! They came suddenly upon
a hole in that massive stone, which perfectly accounted
for its having remained in situ. The hole was large
enough for the passage of a man's body, and had evi-
dently been used previously as a mode of ingress by
those who had found the removal of the colossal stone
impossible.
r
t
Chap. X.] EXCAVATION OF TOMBS. 27 1
This discovery was sufficient to change all the
brilliant hopes of my diggers to sudden gloom, a
characteristic of the variable Cypriote temperament ;
nevertheless, eight of them laboured with pickaxes and
levers for its removal ; but all effort proved vain, and
they were obliged to enter in the same way as their
predecessors.
Theocharis, one of my chief diggers, speedily divested
himself of his superfluous clothing, and, as was his
wont, entered first, previously making the sign of the
cross. I asked him what was the meaning of this
devout act, and he replied that it was his custom to do
so upon entering a deep tomb, in order to keep away
the evil eye, and that no harm should befall him. The
short prayer which he added is, however, not more than
occasion requires, as not unfrequently the earth has
fallen in upon the men, to their very great danger,
and the foreman himself remained once buried for a
couple of hours before he could be relieved. Dr. Justus
Siegismund, a young German philologist of great pro-
mise, who had helped considerably in deciphering
the Cypriote dialect while visiting these tombs in 1876,
during my temporary absence from Amathus, was in
the act of coming out of one of them, when he fell
back into it, and was instantaneously killed.
The confusion that reigned inside the tomb I am now
speaking of is beyond description. I looked in and saw
Theocharis, who had lost his right arm when a boy, with
his only hand covering his head (a sign of wonderment
and great disappointment with him) , standing upon a pile
of decayed human bones, and fragments of sarcophagi
all lying pell-mell. I confess that after so many days
of fruitless labour, passed under a scorching sun in a
waste where one is deprived of every ordinary comfort,
my own disappointment almost equalled that of my
diggers. This tomb was composed of two rooms, and
I
i
contained fifteen sarcophagi, all broken to pieces. For-
tunately, none of them had been sculptured. They
had been originally piled up by threes, but those who
opened the tomb before had thrown down and smashed
the upper ones, in order to get at those beneath, and
contented themselves with cutting large holes through
Shape nl Plain ^icoplugi
those on the ground, without removing them from their
places. In this tomb they seemed to have reaped a
good har\'est, for the large pieces of bones and skulls
were separated and heaped together apart from the pul-
ALABASTEK VA3KS.
Chap. X.] EXCAVATION OF TOMBS. 275
verised remains, which appear to have been passed
through a sieve.
Afterthe employment of fifteen men for two days in the
removal of the fragments of sarcophagi, human remains,
and rubhish, I found piled up in a corner of the inner
room to the right of the doorway the fragments of sixty
terra-cotta vases, having the same
characteristics as those found at
Paphos, Idalium, Golgoi, and else-
where in the island ; besides sixteen
alabaster vases, mostly injured by
damp and time ; several fragments of
opaque glass ; a few green glazed
terra-cotta
amulets, of
Egyptian
manufacture;
two terra-
cotta figures
of Astarte ;
some thirty
o b j e c t s in
copper, such
as mirrors,
discs, pa-
teras, bowls,
and vases,
very much
■; TEin-colta Oaiachd« with Siralncr. Tem-coiu Smtuetu
oxidised, ad- or Asian..
hering firmly to each other, and which seem to have
been purposely thrown inside a large copper caldron
and then smashed, as the latter had entirely lost its
original shape. This mass weighed over seventy
pounds. Among the fragments of vases were found
the remains of a wooden box, handsomely inlaid with
bronze. This box, without doubt, was once hidden in
276 CYPRUS. [Chap. X.
an aperture in the roof of the first chamber, which we
found had been discovered on the removal of a stone
slab lying on the floor, and which, upon replacing it,
fitted the mouth of the opening. The measurement of
this cavity was two feet three inches long, and four-
teen inches high by ten in width. The nicety with
which this stone fitted its place in the roof would seem
to have defied detection ; but the marauders who had
previously ransacked the tomb seem to have been
professionals in their work, as it had evidently been
removed with care, and by the employment of small
tools.
In examining the contents of the copper caldron, I
discovered an iron dagger, the fragments of a shield
engraved with a row of animals, and the remains of a
silver bowl, which from its oxidisation must have
been mistaken for other metal by the marauders, and
thrown into the caldron as if of no value to them.
Both these important fragments have been engraved
in the French Revue Archeologique (1875), and ably
described by my learned friend Mr. Georges Ceccaldi,
though I do not agree with him in some of his ex-
planations and conclusions about the representations
^
ilELD, FOUND AT AMATHUS.
-1
Chap. X.] ANTIQUITIES FROM TOMBS. 281
on the silver bowl, between which and the representa-
tions on the great sarcophagus it is easy to perceive
that there is a great resemblance. The mystic or
sacred tree is almost identical with that on the borders
of the sarcophagus ; the dress of some of the warriors,
their head-dress, the accoutrements of the horses, the
shape of the chariots, and the style of execution, show
that both belong to the same epoch. I am of opinion
that these, as well as the greatest part of the monu-
ments I discovered in Cyprus, were made in the island,
as this mixture of Greek, Egyptian, and Assyrian, which
I call ** Cypriote art," is not met with elsewhere in any
monument that I am aware of. As to the sarcophagus
no doubt can be entertained on this point, since it is
cut out of a rough and hard sandstone, which is
peculiar to Amathus, and to another locality on the
eastern coast of Cyprus.
The quantity of objects in copper and bronze found
in these tombs, though mostly destroyed by oxidisation,
is much greater than that found in the extensive
necropolis of Idalium. I observed that in the locali-
ties where copper mines are known to have existed,
as at Amathus and Curium, the ancient tombs contain
a much larger per-centage of works in that metal than
elsewhere. The same thing may be said of the few
graves I opened in the neighbourhood of Tamassus.
The fact that almost all these bronze objects were plain
and roughly made, is for me an additional evidence
that they were made in Cyprus. From this group of
tombs, among the objects left behind or over-looked
by those who had entered them before, I extracted
curious little rings, some in bronze, and others in
silver, the use of which it is not easy to determine ;
a few Egyptian and Babylonian cylinders of soft glazed
clay, also several rings of solid gold, but roughly made
and of no artistic value ; a large quantity of broken jars
282 CYPRUS. [Chap. X.
of earthenware and bronze bowls and paterie, all plain,
and so oxidised as to fall into a fine green powder at
the first touch ; also some copper hatchets and iron
arrow-heads, but no inscriptions, glass, lamps, or coins
were found.
In one of these tombs I observed what I have never
seen in any other, namely, a skeleton plant almost black
in colour, which embroidered the wall and roof like a
network of lace with its delicate tracery. It would seem
that Nature, commiserating the spoliation which the
tomb had suffered, came with sympathetic hand to lend
her own more appropriate adornment.
West of these tombs, but facing the east, I dis-
covered nine oven-shaped caverns, containing such a
quantity of bones that I was extremely curious to
examine one thoroughly. Accordingly the earth was
removed, and I counted no less than sixty-four human
skulls. There was also a promiscuous mass of bones,
among which I remarked jaws and teeth of camels,
horses, and sheep, or goats. I should here state, that
Chap. X.] CAVES WITH BONES. 283
in the most ancient tombs, whether at Dali, Aghios
Photios, Paphos, or Amathus, I have often found teeth
of animals, especially of camels ; and even in the richer
tombs containing the sarcophagi, bones and teeth of
quadrupeds have been exhumed. These nine caverns
would have been infinitely too small to contain the
amount of bodies indicated, and I believe therefore
that they were ossuaries for bones, removed from the
rock-cut tombs to make way for other bodies. The
very fact that no vases or other objects were found
invside, corroborates this view.
In the tombs along the sea-shore, of which there are
many yet to be opened, no animal remains have been
found with the dead bodies, except sometimes pigeon
or chicken bones, and egg-shells in clay dishes, which
were probably the remains of the funeral repast.
Twenty minutes' walk east of these tombs there lies
on the western declivity of a low hill, a small village
called Aghios Tychona, composed of about twenty-
five houses. The inhabitants are chiefly Christians of
the Greek creed, with a sprinkling of Mussulmans.
The latter bear a very bad reputation, and belong to
the lowest class, murder and cattle stealing being
their chief occupation. The village is principally
built with stones from Amathus, among which are
fragments of some few capitals, columns, and other
architectural remains. It contains a church dedicated
to St. Nicholas, to which is attached a decrepit priest
nearly a hundred years old. In the spacious court-
yard of the church, which does duty also as a burying-
ground, I found inserted in the enclosure wall, a bas-
relief in calcareous stone three feet two inches high
by twenty-two inches in width, representing a youth
holding a dove in his left hand. It is said to have
been brought many years ago from the top of the hill
of Amathus. It is a rude sculpture, apparently very
284 CYPRUS. [Chap. X.
old, and in a poor state of preservation. I observed
also several Greek inscriptions and sepulchral stelae
which had been found in tombs near the sea-shore, and
do not date farther back than the first century of the
Christian era. The chief support of the inhabitants of
this village is derived from stone cutting, and the
breeding of cattle ; to this has come the ancient king-
dom of Amathus, which was one of the wealthiest in
Cyprus !
I made considerable explorations on the surrounding
hills and mountains in search of the ancient copper-
mines of Amathus, which were considered the richest
and most extensive of Cyprus. I expected to find some
scoriae or other indications in the neighbourhood of the
ancient city, which would enable me to recognise them ;
but although I made several excursions for that purpose,
and crossed the range of mountains in the plain of
Mesaoria, where the royal city of Tamassus is said to
have existed, yet I failed to find any traces of them.
In the vicinity of Aghios Heraclidion and Petra there
are many ancient tombs, some hewn in the rock, and
others merely excavated in the earth, as at Dali. These
probably belonged to the inhabitants of Tamassus. An
intelligent peasant of Petra told me that he and his
father while cutting wood had found a large mound of
copper (probably of scoriae) on the north slope of these
mountains, but when I asked him to bring me to the
spot, he declared that he had forgotten its exact locality.
It is more than probable that the Amathus and Ta-
massus copper mines were in this range of mountains,
as among the fragments of loose rock lying on the
surface I picked up some which contained a certain
quantity of copper. A mineralogist would perhaps be
able to detect other indications which would be un-
noticed by my inexperienced eye.
During my long encampment at Amathus I visited
Chap. X.] THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF AMATHUS. 285
also another range of hills west of these ruins, on
the summit of one of which, very
difficult of ascent, situated between
the two small villages of Aghios
Dimitri and Fasuli, I found the ruins
of an elliptical structure measuring
twenty-seven feet by sixteen. Its
area was strewn with pieces of broken
statues, upon two of which an eagle
was carved. I discovered also on the
bases of two life-size statues to which
the feet still adhered, Greek characters
roughly but deeply cut in the cal-
careous stone (see Appendix). I should
have liked to explore this spot tho-
roughly, as these ruins are not im-
probably those of a temple dedicated
to Jupiter, but I had brought neither
a tent nor provisions with me, and
so was obliged to content myself with
having the stones on the surface
turned over in search of inscriptions.
While thus occupied with half a
dozen men, we found ourselves sud- siu»eofVtLiedFcn,ii.,
denly enveloped in a dense smoke.
The slopes of the hill were in a blaze, the thick brush-
wood which covered them being all on fire, the
strong wind which always prevails on these hills
causing it to spread so rapidly that we were in danger
of being roasted alive. We ran down the hill in so
great a hurry that we forgot the saddle-bags. That
the fire was not accidental was very evident, but the
motive of the incendiary was unaccountable. During
my travels in the island I had always met everywhere
with the greatest kindness and respect.
The animals which had been left grazing had dashed
286 CYPRUS. [Chap. X.
off, frightened by the flames, and it took some time to
catch them. While the men were in pursuit of them
I sent for the notables of both villages, who represented
the local authorities. My object was to ascertain
whether the conduct of any of my men had excited the
animosity of some peasant.
On their arrival they declared that no injury had
been done to anyone by my diggers, but that a certain
Turk of Aghios Tychona, called Kara Ahmet, who
was a professional cattle-stealer and had been involved
in the murder of an English subject at Limassol some
years before, and had just been released from prison,
had been seen prowling round the hill, and was un-
doubtedly the author of the mischief. It appeared that
he had applied in vain to my chief digger for employ-
ment, and imagining that the refusal came from me,
determined thus to revenge himself.
By the application of a few matches he had fired the
hill* on all sides and then ran away with my saddle-
bags, which were thus preserved, and in which he
expected to find money and other valuables, but they
contained only a few oranges and some bread. He had
however been seen and recognised by the red-haired
priest of Aghios Dimitri and by several other peasants.
I was determined to have him caught and severely
punished, though as he was a desperado, some caution
was necessary. I therefore sent my cavass Mustafa to
the Caimakam of Limassol, with a request for two
policemen, and with an explanation of the reason for
which I desired them.
Then I despatched my foreman on the swiftest
mule I had with me to Aghios Tychona, where this
Ahmet lived, to watch his arrival and movements.
The latter, as I expected, knowing all the short cuts
through the mountains, arrived about the same time,
and as he thought safely and unseen, and the saddle-
bags with him.
Chap. X.] CAPTURE OF A ROBBER. 287
Mustafa, with the policemen, entered his house shortly
after, and he was pinioned and brought before me at
Amathus, whither I had returned, for examination ; but
refused to make any reply to my questions. I sent him
direct to the Governor-General at Nicosia, who kept
him in prison for several months. Two of the prisoner's
brothers living at Aghios Tychona gave out hints of
their intention to be avenged on my cavass Mustafa,
who did not feel very comfortable in consequence for
some time, though I assured him there was no danger
of their making any such attempt. Nevertheless, in
view of the bad reputation which these men bore in the
village, a few precautionary measures were adopted
in our little encampment, which was very near that
village.
One night as I was just falling asleep, I thought I
perceived some movement of my tent, and as the
mosquito-net was secured to the transverse pole, I
soon became aware that I was not dreaming. Some-
one was evidently endeavouring to effect an entrance
from beneath. I have always preferred, when travelling
in Cyprus, tent life to the poor comforts which the
smaller villages offer, though pitching my tents always
sufficiently near them to make provisions and provender
easily attainable. On these occasions I invariably ^lept
with a revolver under my pillow, though, as I have said,
never, excepting on this night, finding a necessity to use
it. In this instance, however, I stealthily reached my
revolver, and cocking it, waited for further developments.
I could clearly distinguish the noise made in the effort
to dislodge one of the tent pins, and shortly after a
shock-head of black hair intruded itself beneath my
tent, while I clearly saw a dark form crouched upon
the ground ; I did not wait longer, but pulling the
trigger sent a ball whizzing through its brains ; what
with the howl that followed, and the detonation of the
288 CYPRUS. [Chap. X.
arm, all my men flocked round me in a few seconds,
confused and frightened ; but their alarm was soon
changed to merriment when the robber was found to
be a big black dog, which, attracted by the savoury
smell of a roasted partridge left from supper, had
come uninvited to appease its hunger.
The mountains which environ Amathus present a
desolate aspect, and a death-like stillness prevails at
all hours of the day. The vegetation is very scant, the
locust tree alone lending now and then with its thick
and lustrous foliage a friendly shade to the traveller.
Herds of sheep and goats may he seen in the distance,
grazing upon drj' grass and the stalk of last year's crop
of barley.
Before leaving for the west to explore Curium, the
removal of the white marble sarcophagus with the female
head sculptured in high relief upon its lid, the discovery
of which I have before alluded to, occupied much of
my time and thought. With the means at my disposal
it was a difficult undertaking. We had no pulleys or
other machinery for raising weights, and were obliged
to rely solely upon ropes and force of hand. Nine
hours of the most arduous labour were consumed in
bringing it to the surface. It was then placed upon a
low cart made expressly for it, and thence dragged
slowly over rough fields strewn with stones by eight
oxen and fifty men, both men and beasts working with
equal energ)'.
Chap. X.] THE GOVERNOR OF LIMASSOL. 289
We left the field at noon, and although one can walk
from there to the shore in twenty minutes, we did not
cover the distance till six o'clock in the evening, having
had to repair the cart, which groaned under the weight,
more than a score of times. Notwithstanding this I
had the pleasure of seeing it before nightfall safely
conveyed on board the ** Mahona," which was lying in
waiting for it, and was soon under way for Larnaca.
The Governor of Limassol had been informed early
in the day, with the usual oriental exaggeration, that
the American Consul was removing some extraordinary
object from the ruins of Amathus ; consequently, pend-
ing ** our march to the sea,'' two zaptiehs or nlounted
Turkish policemen arrived, their persons fortified by
the customary array of pistols and cutlasses, which the
rust of ages has rendered perfectly harmless. They
appeared to have received orders only to watch the
proceedings, and accordingly never dismounted, but
kept at a respectful distance. Once, however, while
the cart was undergoing repairs, the curiosity of one of
them became too strong for control, and he approached
somewhat nearer, but upon my making a sign to my
Consular Guard to order him back, he politely bowed,
and immediately retired.
When the sarcophagus had nearly reached the sea-
shore and the policemen saw a boat flying the American
colours in readiness to receive it, they galloped away
at full speed towards Limassol, and two hours later,,
just as the sarcophagus was about to be placed on
board, an ofiicer of the police of Limassol came dash-
ing up with the information that the Governor was on
the road to visit the ** wonder," and requested me not
to ship it until he had an opportunity of seeing it ; to
which request, as may be imagined, I paid very little
heed, and the sarcophagus went safely on board with-
out unnecessary delay : the white sails filled, and the
u
^
290 CYPRUS. [Chap. X.
** Mah6na" glided with a steady motion from the shore
just as the Governor of Limassol and his numerous
suite approached the spot.
At the period of which I speak the Governor of
Limassol was a fanatic Turk of the old school, and an
intense hater of all Christians. Shrewd as all semi-
educated Turks naturally are, when he saw that he
had arrived just a moment too late to interfere with my
shipment he changed tactics, and dismounting at a
certain distance from where I was standing (an oriental
mark of respect), advanced towards me with all seeming
friendliness and affected humility. After cigarettes had
been handed and the usual trivial compliments ex-
changed, he began to apologise for the lateness of the
hour in making his visit, saying that he had ordered his
horse to be saddled the moment he had heard of my
presence in his province, and now came to offer me a
guard of policemen for my personal safety (mark the
incongruity!) while in the neighbourhood of Aghios
Tychona, as he heard I had experienced some trouble
with some of its inhabitants, and if anything else lay in
his power to aid me I had only to command him. Of
course I did not believe a word of what he said, yet I
thanked him for his polite interest in my welfare ; but
replied that I required no other protection than that of my
own men, and that throughout all my long wanderings
in the island I had never encountered any danger. He
did not make the slightest allusion to the now vanished
sarcophagus, and after a few more insipid compliments
rose and asked permission to leave, which was gladly
accorded to him.
On the southern slope of a hill not far from Aghios
Tychona, and where Hammer wrongly placed the site
of the Temple of Venus, are still to be seen sufficient
remains of a wall to suggest that a building of some
kind had once existed there, and I decided to inspect it
Chap. X.] MORNING SERVICE. 29I
more closely should I have a leisure moment before
leaving Amathus. Being awakened one morning earlier
than usual by the persistent mosquitos I rose, too*k
my gun, and started alone for the place, leaving my
diggers near by, still wrapped in their blankets slumber-
ing on the hard ground that unconscious sleep which
the bed of down does not always bring. In spite of
making several detours on the way in search of part-
ridges I reached the spot before sunrise. Enjoying the
solitude in which I believed myself, and while climbing
a jutting rock in order to reach the largest portion of
the standing wall, I was startled by the voice of a man
reading aloud in a nasal and unbroken tone, I coughed,
and the sound immediately ceased, but after a moment
proceeded as before. Upon reaching the wall I found
a Greek priest reading from a book to some nine or ten
stone cutters. I made a sign to the priest (who upon
my appearance had stopped) to proceed, and uncover-
ing my head, waited a little way off until the prayer
was over. Upon its termination the men dispersed, and
I approached the priest to make some inquiries, and
from the old man's lips gathered the following story.
*' Formerly a church stood where are now these few
ruins — a very long time ago, more than 200 years ago! "
The old priest eyed me askance as he said this, fearing
my archaeological knowledge might dispute such remote
antiquity ; but the building was even more ancient than
he imagined, being of the early Byzantine period.
** The church was dedicated,'' he continued, '* to
Aghios Tychona, who had been killed here, and to this
shrine was attributed the miraculous power of curing
epileptics. Many years ago there existed one of our
Bishops — a bad man, God forgive him ! — who ordered the
church " (in danger of falling, I suppose) **to be pulled
down and a new one to be built with the same stones at
a little distance, but the Saint would not permit such a
u 2
292 CYPRUS. [Chap. X.
desecration, and appeared in a dream to all the villagers
of the neighbourhood in the same night, and told them
to oppose so sacrilegious a demolition by force, which I
assure you they would have done if the Bishop had not
desisted. As a punishment the Bishop was afflicted
with epilepsy, became crazy, and in a fit destroyed
himself."
What, however, the '* wicked Bishop '* was not per-
mitted to do, time and the want of repairs have
accomplished. A mass of rubbish and stones, with
here and there a piece of wall a few feet in height, are
all that remain to mark the spot of the ** martyred
Saint ; '* but a Greek priest comes every Monday in the
year at break of day to pray among the stones. Before
ascending the hill he rings a hand-bell, and those
peasants who wish gather there together for prayer. I
asked the priest why the church in the village near by,
called Aghios Tychona, was dedicated to St. Nicholas
instead of to St. Tychona, and he seemed a moment
puzzled, then in a grave tone of voice answered that
the '* Saint " had forbidden it.
The early morning, with the earth still bathed in dew,
the sun just rising, throwing its glories over sea and
land, the solemnity of the hour, the profound tranquillity
that reigned around, where nought met the eye that
told of man, fitted so well with the scene of prayer, and
the legend I had just been listening to, that a melan-
choly charm invested these simple ruins for the moment,
which more pretentious ones at a different hour would
have failed to convey ; and I sat down on the base of
a broken column to muse on the great lesson so often
repeated, of the finiteness of man, while Nature in her
grandeur rolls on, **the same yesterday, to-day, and
for ever."
CHAPTER XI.
CURIUM.
Curium founded liy Argives. — Identification of site. ^Traces of lown
in plain bi.'low.— Theatre, several temples. — Hi|i[>odronie and
aiiueducL— Cisterns or granaries, public wells. — Exploration of one
of the temples.— Mosaic pavement — Rock-cut vaults containing
treasure.— Description of their contents, — Gold armlets with name
of king of Paphos. — Tonihs in neighbouring hills and plain. —
Discovery of Temple of Aitollo Hylates.— Greek inscriptions. —
Statues from the neighbourhood. — Journey to Cape Gatto,— Dis-
covery of Kuri, its cemetery. — Wild cats and asps. — Ruins of
Greek convent at Acrotiri. — Return to Larnaca. — End of explora-
tions.— De|>artute from the island.
Travelling due west from the ruins of Amathus or
PalcEo-Limassol, as the site is now called, after a
ride of five hours, mostly through a' fertile and well
294 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI.
irrigated plain, shaded by carob and olive trees, in
which are situated the large town of Limassol, and the
small but picturesque villages of Kolossi and Episkopi,
we reach the western shore of Cyprus, near which once
existed the royal city of Curium.
Built, like an eagle's nest, on the summit of a rocky
elevation some 300 feet above the level of the sea, and
almost inaccessible on three sides, the city must have
defied in former daj^s all foes, whether armed with bow
and arrows, or with shield and spears ; and her inhabi-
tants must have enjoyed from that eminence with the
fine bay stretching away from the foot of their mountain,
the lovely scenery which still presents itself on every
side.
At a short distance one would take this rock for the
walls of a huge mediaeval castle in ruins ; but if the
traveller coming from Episkopi approach it nearer, he
will be surprised at the patience, labour, and ingenuity
of the people, who, having selected that excellent spot
for their habitation, forced the gigantic rock to take the
shape they wished, and to become subservient to their
need, and that too with the poor tools at their command,
of which traces are still visible. The rock is of common
calcareous sandstone, and has been cut, on the east and
south sides, into a quite perpendicular face.
Forty feet up from the ground a large plateau is
cut on the slope, about 100 feet wide, and then scooped
25 feet deep, resembling a moat round a modern
fortress. This is all that meets the eye of the traveller
when he has approached within a few yards of the rock ;
but if he ascend the little slope, and from the plateau
look into the ditch, he will be astonished at what he
beholds. The idea that this ditch was excavated for a
defensive purpose alone, in order to render a sudden
assault upon the city impossible, is dispelled, and a
feeling of admiration arises, when one remarks with
Chap. XI.] ASPECT OF CURIUM. 295
what care every inch of available space, both at the
base of the rock and in the wall opposite, has been
husbanded for the purpose of building another city — the
city of their dead. Thousands .and thousands of rock-
cut tombs once occupied this space. Those at the base
of the rock resembled perfectly in form and size the
tombs at Palaeo-Limassol. In the wall facing the
ditch they were in three regular tiers, but most of them
are now destroyed. The first consisted of oven-shaped
tombs, forming as it were an arched structure for the
support of the upper ones, which were rectangular,
much larger, and finished with great care. These
were not, as in the first tier, mere cavities made to
receive the bodies, but were in reality small sepulchral
chambers cut in the rock, in the centre of each of which
stood a sarcophagus, which was a part of the chamber
itself, and in some instances rose twenty-two inches
above the floor, while in others it was sunk below the
surface, the edge or rim only appearing. It requires a
close examination to convince one that the stone cofiin
and the sepulchral chamber are of one piece.
I was disappointed, however, to find that while the
builders had paid much attention to the general plan of
these tombs, they had not made them of the same size.
In truth, I measured many of them, but did not find two
of like dimensions. All differed in this respect from a
few inches to a foot. Their average size is the following
— height, six feet ten inches ; length, eight feet ; width,
four feet two inches.
Not only had the builders honeycombed with tombs
the base of the rock, the ditch, and the inner side of the
wall, but they had cut their larger sepulchres, consisting
of two or more chambers, into the slope of the sur-
rounding hills — wherever, in fact, they found solid rock.
Even the plain below, opposite the southern entrance,
extending westward as far as the sea-shore, has not been
2g6 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI.
spared ; those are the only tombs which had not been
opened long ago.
At a later period a Christian village, the church of
which, dedicated to Aghios Ermojeni, is still extant, had
been built on a portion of this plain, almost at the foot
of Curium. In its immediate vicinity I found small
square foundations of houses, and some early Christian
graves, but digging twenty-seven feet deeper I dis-
covered that the whole ground beneath was full of
tombs belonging to the early inhabitants of Curium, and
occupying at least half a mile in extent. In a dale 200
yards east of this church, and at a depth of twenty -three
feet from the surface, I met with a wall made of huge
blocks of limestone four feet seven inches thick,
cemented with mortar, and going eleven feet nine
inches deep ; its length I could not ascertain, as it
extended beneath a cotton field belonging to a Turk on
one side, and on the other reached the rock of Curium,
where it abruptly ceased. The distance I was able to
explore measured thirty-two feet. At another place,
about 1000 yards south of this dale, I found a similar
wall, but it ran in an opposite direction, also extending
beneath fields cultivated and belonging to Turks of
Episkopi, who objected to my further exploration on
that spot.
The tombs in this plain are found at a depth varying
according to the distance of the underlying rock, some
being as much as forty feet, while others are only seven
or ten feet below the surface. None of them had been
previously disturbed ; their doors were as hermetically
closed as when the last body had been deposited.
Unfortunately the roofs of most had fallen in, and the
interiors were filled with fragments of rock and earth ;
for this reason few objects were got out intact. In
the tombs where the roofs were thicker and had not
fallen in, the earth had sifted in to the height of several
Chap. XI.] TOMBS AT CURIUM. 297
feet, but it was not very difficult to remove. The
objects found in them were precisely in the position in
which they had been originally placed. In no case
were there less than two bodies. The stone slab
having been removed from the entrance of one of the
tombs, the first objects found were two earthenware
lamps, coarsely and curiously made, lying in the door-
way. Inside stood four amphoc^ of a
peculiar shape, upon one of which were
traces of Phcenician letters inscribed
with black paint ; two of these were on
each side of the doorway, and all were
in an upright position. Further to
the left, where some bones marked the
spot on which the corpse had lain, was
a plain gold ring, in the shape of a
modern wedding ring, and two silver
bracelets, finishing at the extremities ■
with asp's heads ; also two silver ear- ^^^ id.nuQi«th
rings, much oxidised, and a bronze ftlllS'Ti^i''""^
mirror with a short handle.
On the right-hand side were a bronze cup, almost
destroyed by oxidisation, and. some earthenware vases
with the same kind of ornament as those found at
Idalium, namely, concentric circles, zigzag lines, and
chequers, but upon a red-coloured ground.
From the objects found in this tomb, it is evident that
it had contained two bodies, a man on the right, and
a woman (probably his wife) on the left. The same
peculiarity I remarked here as I had also in some
tombs at Idalium and at Ormidia, that the right
arm of the skeleton was placed across the breast,
the hand resting in a dish at the side of the head.
I call the attention of archaeologists to this fact (an
exact drawing of the skeleton is seen at page 298),
as it is inexplicable to me. I may, however, mention
298 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI.
that among the antiquities discovered by Layard, and
now exhibited in cases in the British Museum, are
several circular bronze bowls, each containing the bones
of a hand. But whether he found them in tombs, or
under what circumstances, I have not been able to learn.
Skeleiou with HanJ tii Du>h.
The rock of Curium shows the ravages of time in
numerous seams, presenting in some places the ap-
pearance of a colossal sponge. Enormous pieces of it,
split from top to bottom, are ready to fall at any mo-
ment. Blocks, many tons in weight, which had been
excavated into tombs, have already fallen, no one knows
when, filling up the ditch in several places, and shatter-
ing in their fall the tombs beneath. The inhabitants of
Episkopi (a village which came into existence during
the reign of the Lusignan kings, 1200 a.d., and was
held as fief by a brother of Catherine Cornaro) have
for generations found in these blocks abundant material
for the construction and repair of their dwellings.
Curium had been originally the settlement of an Argive
colony, as we gather from Strabo (xiv. 683) and Hero-
dotus (v. 113), but no special leader is assigned to it,
since the explanation of its having been founded by
Cureus, a son of Cinyras, as given by Stephanus Byzan-
tinus, cannot be accepted. This Argive origin is further
confirmed by the importance which Curium attached to
the worship of Apollo, and by the fact that among the
neighbouring villages or small towns, which appeared
to have been leagued with Curium, was one named
Chap. XL] SKETCH OF CURIUM. 299
Argos. Possibly Engel is right (i. p. 237) when he
conjectures that Dmetor the laside, whom Ulysses calls
King of Cyprus (Odyssey, xvii. 442), may have been of
the Argive family of lasos, and more strictly only King
of Curium. With this apparently Greek origin, it is
strange that in the revolt raised against the Persians
by Onesilos of Salamis, the King of Curium, Stasanor,
should have deserted to the Persians (b.c. 498). At an
earlier period we find a King Eteandros included among
the Cypriote monarchs who paid tribute to Esarhaddon,
and whom he directed to send building material for his
palace at Nineveh. But on the whole Curium appears
to have taken very little part in the public affairs of the
island. In the time of Alexander the Great, we find the
King Pasicrates sending ships to assist him in the siege
of Tyre. The city of Curium had three entrances, one
on the south, one on the west, and a third on the north
side, near the present road to Paphos ; the first and
second are still visible. The southern entrance, a
square opening hewn in the rock, is 56 feet wide. A
flight of steps led up to the gate, bridge, or whatever
else closed this entrance, which is still marked by the
fragment of a column standing on its original base.
The western entrance faces the bay, and seems to
have been the principal one ; but no traces of steps or
road leading to it can now be seen. On either side had
been a small building (probably watch-towers for a
guard), now represented by two shapeless mounds of
debris. I explored one of them, and found it exactly
25 feet square ; both were connected with the wall
which had encircled the crest of the hill. Entering the
city from the southern gateway, and walking a few
minutes in a north-easterly direction, one meets with
the ruins of a semicircular structure, measuring 720
feet in circumference, probably those of a theatre. In
the immediate vicinity is a quantity of stones, broken
300 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI.
pottery, and other rubbish, with small square foundations
underneath, which indicate the business quarter of the
ci'"y.
The area of Curium was much greater than that
of Amathus ; and though the foundations of its wall on
the north side are only half-an-hour's walk from the
southern entrance, yet beyond them there are visible
remains of other ancient habitations. Except Neo-
Paphos, there is no place in Cyprus which presents
on the surface of the soil so large a quantity of debris.
Pococke, who visited Cyprus for a few weeks, speaks
of having seen remains of walls at Curium, but they
were probably those of the Hippodrome, which are on
his route from Paphos. It is singular that the dis-
tinguished French archaeologist, Count De Vogue, who
in 1862 visited and, as he says, thoroughly explored
Cyprus,* does not mention the ruins of
Curium. I counted seven spots where
shafts of columns, either in marble or
granite, are lying half hurled in the
ground, probably in the same position
as when they fell centuries ago ! In one
place there are stone steps quite worn
out by the busy feet which came and
went to a cistern near by, probably a
public well, where the Rebeccas of
Curium resorted to till their water jars
at evening, and talk over the news and
scandal of the day. In another spot a
Woman »>i =r large diota lies broken beneath a rec-
tangular stone, as undisturbed as if the crash had
occurred but yesterday. Broken lamps, and handles of
* " Quant i I'exploralion exl^rieure de I'He, je puis Ic dire, elle a die
aussi comjilcte que possible ; rien d'apparcnt n'a eKj omis." — Revae
Arch'-oltigique, October, i86a.)
CiUP. XI.] DISCOVERY OF MOSAIC. 301
a diota inscribed, a large millstone with a copper ring
riveted into it, and every where masses of broken
pottery strew the ground. Now and then parts of the
street pavements are visible, marked with the tracks of
chariot wheels, and altogether the scene is one which
fires the imagination to conjure up the ancient days of
the city.
Hundreds of small mounds mark where ordinary
dwelling-houses had stood. The larger ones we may
conclude are the debris of public buildings or palaces.
I explored some of the larger mounds, near which lay
columns, and from the form of their foundations and
the fragments of statues which they yielded, I judge
them to have been temples.
One of these places, where eight shafts of columns of
a brownish granite lay imbedded in the ground, at-
tracted me more particu-
larly, and wishing to
measure some of them,
I had two removed, and
found their diameter to
be 22J inches, and their
length 18 feet. Under
these shafts appeared a
mosaic pavement, com-
posed of small tessellae
of marble and stone, of
four different colours —
red, white, brown, and
blue, inlaid in different
patterns, and forming ""«!■= P'-™"»-
large lotus flowers. The
columns had damaged the pavement considerably in
filling, yet the whole design can be easily traced.
After their removal the mosaic was found to be entirely
broken up at several places, not by the force of the
302 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI.
columns falling upon it, but by some treasure seeker,
who, probably after having dug six or seven feet deeper,
and having met with the eastern foundation of the build-
ing, had broken it up, and finding nothing beneath, had
evidently abandoned the undertaking as unprofitable.
This mosaic was laid upon a layer of charcoal about
two feet thick, and beneath the charcoal there was a
bed of sand about eight inches thick.
After carefully surveying the place, I decided to con-
tinue the excavations beneath that portion of the mosaic,
inasmuch as it sounded quite hollow. In fact, after
digging some twenty feet deeper than the treasure
hunter had gone, I discovered a gallery excavated in
the rock, eleven feet four inches long, four feet ten inches
wide, and scarcely four feet high. One end of it evidently
communicated with the building above, though only
two stone steps, also cut in the rock, now exist. At
the other end I found a doorway, carelessly closed by a
stone slab. As soon as this stone was removed, there
appeared an oven-shaped cavity, filled to within a few
inches of the roof with fine earth, which, as usual, had
percolated from above. After the removal of some
three thousand baskets of this earth, another opening
appeared in the north wall, which led into an inner
room filled in like manner. I descended into the -first
chamber for the purpose of examining it, and while
poking into the remaining earth with my foot-rule, I
struck something hard, which turned out to be a
bracelet, with several other gold objects in a small
heap. This was unusual, as when gold ornaments are
discovered in a tomb, they are invariably found mixed
with bones, showing that they had been worn by the
person buried. I could not even suspect my diggers of
having temporarily hidden them there, in order to take
them away at their leisure, because when they are
removing the filtrated earth from a tomb, they have no
Chap. XL] TREASURE CHAMBERS OF TEMPLE. 303
light, nor need any inside, and if, by some extraordinarj''
chance, one of them had found those objects, he could
have put them into his pocket without fear of detec-
tion, as I never had any of my diggers searched, even
when strong suspicion existed against any of them.
After this discovery, I ordered all the earth to be
removed from both chambers ; this is seldom practised
when the tomb is composed of one or two chambers
only, because when they are filled with earth entirely
(and this is unfortunately very often the case), it
adheres so tenaciously to the roof that the diggers
prefer to remove, by tunnelling, that portion of it from
the right and left of the doorway, where they know the
objects, if any, are always to be found, rather than to
go through the long and laborious process of removing
all the earth with baskets.
When the second chamber was half emptied, a third
one was discovered, and a week later the doorway of a
fourth made its appearance. A whole month was
spent in simply removing the earth from these four
rooms ; but a layer was left in each of them, as usual,
about a foot and a half deep. It is between this
layer and the pavement that the sepulchral contents are
always to be found. This performance my diggers call
"trimming the tomb.'' When this was accomplished
the gang was ordered off to some other work. I
descended at last, and accompanied by the foreman,
and a man carrying a lantern, began to examine dili-
gently each room. These rooms had been roughly
excavated in the limestone rock, by means of a copper
or iron tool scarcely half an inch wide, the traces of
which are plainly visible everywhere. Three of the
rooms are very nearly of the same size, the fourth is a
little smaller.
The accompanying plan will show the shape and the
relative position of the four chambers. They are beneath
304 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI.
the eastern and northern foundations of the mosaic pave-
ment. A. Passage facing south, and leading into the
rooms : length, eleven feet four inches ; height, three
feet eleven inches ; width, four feet ten inches, aa.
Passage leading westward: height, two and a-half feet;
width, two feet ; length beyond thirty feet is unexplored.
B. Doorways communicating with the rooms ; they are
Plw of Trnisure Chambtn of Temi^le Jil Cunum.
all of the same size : height, two feet seven inches ;
width three feet ; depth of doorway, one foot four inches,
c, D, E. Rooms : height fourteen feet six inches ;
width, twenty one feet ; length twenty three feet. f.
Room on the north-east corner of the mosaic pavement :
height, fourteen feet; width, nineteen feet; and length
twenty feet. g. Two steps cut in the rock, which led
into the passage a.
After having measured each room and searched in
vain for some inscription upon the walls, I retraced my
steps to Room c, in which a few weeks before I had
discovered the gold ornaments. The layer of earth
was searched by my foreman, carefully and delicately,
with the point of his knife ; afterwards he passed it
twice through his fingers ; this done, the man with the
Chap. XI.] TREASURE CHAMBERS OF TEMPLE. 305
lantern took away this earth, again examining it, in
case anything had been passed unobserved. The
fellow bracelet to that found a month before, was soon
discovered not far off, in company with two gold signet-
rings having scarabs in agate with Egyptian repre-
sentations engraved upon them ; also four pairs of
earrings and many gold beads, some of which were
still strung alternately with rock-crystal beads upon a
gold wire, and had as a pendent a little rock-crystal
vase finely cut. I now remarked for the first time the
total absence of human remains and sepulchral vases,
and concluded that these vaults must have belonged to
the building above.
Although no statuary or architectural fragments
existed above these four rooms, with the exception of
the granite columns already mentioned, yet I am con-
vinced that the structure must have been a temple to
which these vaults must have served as treasure-
chambers. We know from Strabo (c. 421) that the
treasures at Delphi were kept under the temple, and
that during the Holy War Onomarchus set men to
search for them, but alarmed by an earthquake they
desisted and fled. In the rubbish removed from the
surface of the mosaic were found several scarabs and
cylinders in serpentine, with rough carvings upon them ;
a silver ring and three cylinders were also discovered
beneath the mosaic pavement, in. the direction of the
two stone steps near a piece of wood, which may have
been from its shape part of a ladder.
The pavement in each room was inlaid with blue
pebbles on a bed of sand and plaster, as is the
practice to this day in Cyprus; but even with this
precaution the vaults must have been always damp,
and unfit to be permanent repositories for such valuable
objects. I ^vas satisfied by the way in which the stone
slab had been carelessly or hurriedly replaced before
3o6 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI.
the entrance, that whatever was to be found in those
vaults would be objects which had been left behind
under some unexplained circumstance. While reflect-
ing thus I was very agreeably interrupted by an
exclamation from my foreman, who rising from his
reclining position, handed me two gold armlets, weigh-
ing over two pounds ; but what to my eyes made them
much more valuable, was the inscription in the Cypriote
character, beautifully engraved on the inner side of
each. The Cypriote inscriptions hitherto found in the
western part of the island are read from left to right.
That on the gold armlets consists of the following
thirteen letters or characters, divided by a perpendicular
line into two groups, of which the first is the name of a
King of Paphos, who probably offered these armlets to
some divinity in that temple.
It is as follows :
te - a - do - ro to - pa - po - ba - si - le - c
*ET€a (f) S/joit Tow ria^u Bao-iXetos.
The omission of the u, and also the termination of
the genitive o for ov, as in early Greek inscriptions, are
peculiarities of the Cypriote dialect, which have already
Chap. XI.] INSCRIBED ARMLETS OF GOLD. 307
been pointed out by philologists. There can hardly be a
doubt that this Eteandros, King of Paphos, is the same
whose name occurs under the form of Ithuander, in
the list of Cypriote kings who brought tribute to the
Assyrian monarch Esarhaddon (b.c, 672). This list is
engraved on an Assyrian cylinder in the British
Museum, and has been published in Mr, George
Smith's ** History of Assyria," pp. 129, 130, and in
the ** Records of the Past," iii. p. 108. Mr. Smith, after
giving the names of the twelve kings of Palestine who
had at this same time submitted to the Assyrian,
proceeds with the list of the Cypriote kings as follows :
**iEgistos, King of Idalium ; Pithagoras, King of
Kidrusi ; Kin . . . . , King of Soli ; Ithuander^ King
of Paphos ; Erisu, King of Salamis ; Damastes, King
of Curium ; Karmes, King of Tamissus ; Damos, King
of Ammochosta ; Unasagus, King of Lidini ; Puzus,
King of Aphrodisia — ^ten kings of the island of Cyprus."
All these monarchs sent presents, and Esarhaddon
directed them to supply him with building materials for
the palace he was building at Nineveh.
The ** Records of the Past" {loc. cit) gives a different
reading of some of these names :
" I. Ekistuz, King of Edihal = iEgisthus, King of
Idalium.
**2. Pisuagura, King of Kittie = Pythagoras, King of
Citium.
**3. Itudagon, King of Pappa= ** Dagon is with him,"
King of Paphos.
*U. Erili, King of Sillu = King of Soli.
** 5. Damasus, King of Kuri= King of Curium.
** 6. Rumitzu, King of Tamisus.
** 7. Damusi, King of Amtikhadasta = King of Ammo-
chosta (modern Famagosta).
** 8. Unassagura, King of Lidini =:Anaxagoras ?
'*g. Butzu, King of Upri . . . . = King of Aphrodisium.
X 2
308 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI.
** The ten Kings of Cyprus which is in the middle
of the sea. Altogether twenty-two kings of Syria
and the sea-coasts, and the islands, all of them,
and I passed them in review before me/' The
name of Cyprus in the cuneiform inscriptions is
Atnan, whence perhaps the Greek name for the island,
A kamantis.
During the several days employed in exploring Room
C, I remained in it the whole time, and every object
was discovered in my presence. Scarcely a moment
passed without some gold ornament being brought to
light. These ornaments include numerous finger-rings,
having in the place of a bezel a scarab or scaraboid
attached by a swivel. These scarabs and scaraboids
are of agate, onyx, carnelian, jasper, sard, chalcedony,
and other stones; they are engraved with designs in
intaglio, and had been used as signets. These signet-
rings are, some in pure solid gold, and others massive
silver; in a few instances the scarab is encircled in
gold, but the ring is in silver and much oxidised. In
many other instances the bezel of the ring is of
gold, with a design engraved on it in intaglio. A
detailed description, along with illustrations of all
the important rings, will be found in the Appendix.
As specimens of archaic Greek gem engraving, some
of the intaglios discovered in this room perhaps surpass
in beauty and style of execution anything of the kind
previously known. It will be seen as a general rule
that when the mounting is in solid gold, the engraving
on the stone is of indifferent workmanship, and that
in fact the artistic value of the ring rises in inverse
proportion to its intrinsic value. There are also many
gold rings set with stones which have never been
engraved, including a large and very fine one with
an amethyst and two nude statuettes wrought in gold
with some fine granulated work. There is also a
Chap. XI] TREASURF. OF CURIUM. 309
number of solid gold rings without any work upon
them, and a sceptre or mace in agate.
There was found also another class of curiously
fashioned rings which have puzzled and still puzzle
archaeologists as to their
use. They are in the form
of coiled snakes, so made
that they could not possibly
have been worn on a finger,
and are of every size ; some
have at one end either the
head of a lion, goat, gry-
phon, or chimaera, while the
other extremity finishes in
a point not unlikely made
to represent a snake's tail.
Many of these rings are
in solid gold, others are
in gold but hollow inside,
some in silver gilt, and
others again in copper
covered with a thin leaf of
gold. Signor Alessandro
Castellani believes that they
have been worn as earrings,
and points out that this
shape of earring occurs on
some of the stone statues
found at Golgoi, and also on ^^^^ ^^^
coins of Tarentum. Some
of these rings are finely executed in the so-called
Etruscan style, and so competent an authority as Mr,
C. T. Newton undoubtedly is, considers them to be
equal if not superior in their workmanship to the finest
Etruscan jewellery.
A large number of earrings were found, mostly in
310
CYPRUS.
[Chap. XI.
pairs and cf many different patterns, but those which
end in the head of a lion, bull, goat, or chimaera, are
the most numerous. Of the many gold amulets found,
Rings with Chimaeras and Griflfons' Heads.
some are in the form of a head of the lion, bull, or calf,
but there is one which deserves to be specially men-
tioned. It represents a Sphinx, and may be compared
Ring with Egyptian DeMgn.
Ring with Cupids.
with the figures of that creature which occur as orna-
ments on the high crowns worn on some terra-cotta
heads found at Citium.
Besides the massive gold armlets already described,
TREASURE OF CURIUM.
there are ten or twelve bracelets. Of these, some
are in plain solid gold weighing from 200 to 300
grammes each ; others have at each extremity a fine
lion's head. Two of them consist of gold bands over
an inch in width, and have rosettes, flowers, and other
designs in high relief, on which are still visible in
312 CYPRUS. ■ [Chap. XI.
places remains of blue enamel. The most interesting
bracelet, however, is one with a large gold medallion
in the centre. Within this medallion is an onyx
which was originally set in a circle of silver, hut the
silver was so oxidised that it fell to dust when I tried
to remove the earth from the bracelet. From this
medallion hang four gold chains, at the extremity of
which there is a gold amulet on which is an orna-
ment similar to that on the large sarcophagus found
at Amathus ; the band of the bracelet is formed by
a great number of large ribbed gold beads soldered
together three by three. Similar bracelets are seen
worn by kings on the bas-reliefs from Nineveh in the
British Museum. Another large gold medallion was
found having beautiful granulated work, and like the
other also set with an onyx in the centre, not unlikely
representing the pupil of a human eye. This medallion
had probably also formed the centre-piece of a bracelet.
It has three loops at each side, but no gold beads were
found beside it, as in the case of the other bracelet.
Chap. XL] TREASURE OF CURIUM. 315
Among the score of fine gold necklaces found in this
room, I will mention some here. One is composed of
seventy finely wrought gold beads and some twenty
large gold acorns as pendants, with a head of Medusa
as a centre-piece. Another is formed of beads having
pomegranates and segments of fruits as pendants,
and a gold bottle as centre-piece. This bottle can be
opened, and probably contained some delicate scent for
the use of the Cypriote lady who wore it. A third
necklace consists of a quantity of alternate lotus flowers
and •buds in gold, with an Egyptian head as centre-
piece. A fourth has a number of small carnelian and
onyx bugles alternating with very fine granulated gold
beads and a number of gold amulets as pendants. A
fifth is composed of alternate carnelian and gold beads
with a carnelian cone (symbol of Venus ?) in the centre.
A sixth is made of gold and rock-crystal beads, with a
beautiful little vase of crystal as pendant ; nearly the
whole of this necklace was found strung on a gold wire
in its original order. But the finest necklace is one
made of a thick solid gold cord having at both extremi-
ties lions' heads of very fine granulated work, and with
a curiously made gold knot forming the clasp at the end.
Among the diadems some consist of thick gold bands
and have concentric circles or lotus flowers embossed on
them, while others are of thin gold leaves, with figures
of animals and flowers stamped upon them. Of the
vessels found in this room the principal one is a gold
bowl with repouss6 work representing two rows of
palm trees, antelopes, and aquatic birds. In the
design will be seen the same mixture of Egyptian and
Assyrian influence which is the characteristic of early
Phoenician art. This bowl has been published by Mr.
Ceccaldi in the ** Revue Archeologique.'' It appears to
be of a much earlier epoch than the armlets of the
Paphian king. In this room were also found three
3l6 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI
alabasti in rock-crystal, a material which seems to
have been valued as much if not more than gold. The
largest of the three has a funnel and top in gold se-
cured by a tiny gold chain to one of its handles. I
believe that this alabastos is quite unique of its kind.
I also found a very large rock-crystal ring not engraved,
and a seal of the same material with the design of a
man and a quadruped roughly engraved or cut on it.
There were found in the same room a number of
Babylonian cylinders, three of which have Assyrian
inscriptions. On one of them Prof. A. H. Sayce of
Oxford University reads the name of an early Chaldean
PLATE XXII
PLATE XXIII.
GOLD NECKLACE A.VD EARRINGS.
Chap. XI.] TREASURE OF CURIUM. 325
king, and gives the date of it between 3000 and 2000
B.C. These objects were all found scattered in this
room as if they had been dropped amid hurry and
confusion, and from other indications also I am of
opinion that this chamber had contained a quantity
of treasure which had probably been successfully
CiyUil Vue with Gold Siopp«. Hl 61 io.
carried away by the priests, when their temple was on
the point of destruction.
Room D contained over 300 articles in silver and
silver-gilt, consisting of vases in the shape of the
lecythos, cylix, and tenochoe, goblets, bowls, and dishes,
massive armlets and bracelets, chiefly terminating in
326 CYPRUS. [CHAP. XI.
asps' heads. Some of these bracelets weigh over a
pound ; many earrings, mostly of one pattern ; fibulae,
rings, and amulets.
From the centuries during which they had remained
covered over by earth they are all much oxidised. In
the preceding room the various articles lay scattered
over the floor, but in this room they were found along
the curve of the eastern wall, placed upon a kind of
ledge about eight inches up from the pavement, and
hewn in the rock all round the wall. The vases were
standing by themselves ; the sixty bracelets were in
three heaps, and also apart from other objects ; the
bowls and dishes were found stacked one inside the
other in nine stacks, the top one in each case contain-
ing earrings, rings, amulets, and fibulte. The bowls
and dishes have suffered most, several of the latter
being so much oxidised as to make it impossible to
separate them, since the silver would fall into dust at
the first touch. Three silver-gilt bowls, very finely
engraved, were also found, one inside the other and
<SSs>m
ND PENDANTS.
PLATE XXVII
G(1LD ORNAMENTS -FKOM CUKIUM
Chap. XI.] TREASURE OF CURIUM. 329
placed apart by themselves. Unfortunately the upper
and the lower one having come more in contact with
the earth with which the room was filled, had suffered
considerably, and are now broken. The centre one is
almost intact, bears traces of gilding, and has a
design in embossed or repouss^ work, which presents
a mixture of the Egyptian and Assyrian styles of art,
but with the addition of Greek influence, from which it
may be inferred to have been executed by Phoenicians
or Cypriotes. Repeated in diff'erent places will be seen
the peculiar form of ornament, having the appearance
of a sacred tree, which occurs on the four corners of
the sculptured sarcophagus discovered at Amathus.
330 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI.
There is now known a considerable series of these
silver or silver-gilt bowls, found always on the tracks
of the ancient Phoenicians, and always presenting a
mixture of Egyptian and Assyrian in the subjects of
representation and in the artistic treatment. Where
hieroglyphics occur on them they are generally false, as
if made by persons who did not understand them, and
that those persons were Phoenicians there is no doubt.
Among the bowls of this class found in 1875 at
Palestrina, is one with a Phoenician inscription on it.
(Gazette Arch^ologique, 1877, plate 5.) The other
antiquities of the tomb where they were found were of
a character which recalls the splendour of the Homeric
age, when the XCSove^ TroXvSaiSaXoi supplied the Greeks
with such vessels. Achilles (Iliad, xxiii. 741) offers a
silver vase as a prize in the contests at the obsequies
of Patroclus, and this bowl was famous, the poet adds,
all the world over for its beauty ; the high antiquity and
Homeric splendour of the bowls found at Caere in the
Regulini-Galassi tomb is also a point which should be
considered. These bowls are now in the Vatican, and
will be found engraved, Museo Etrusco Vat. i. pi. 63-
66. Another found at Salerno in Italy is published,
Mon. deir Inst. Arch. ix. pi. 44, with an article on it
in the Annali (1872, p. 243) by Lignana, who assigns
its date to the time of Psammetichus, B.C. 666, or of
Assurbanipal, B.C. 680-667. Two found at Dali in
1851-1853 are now in the Louvre, and are engraved
and discussed by Longperier in the Mus6e Napoleon
III. pi. io~ii. I found also one in bronze and one in
gold. Of this same class are the bronze bowls found
by Layard at Nineveh.
Another silver patera has a thin leaf of gold inside,
and on this are several rows of animals executed in a
manner which appears to me to be Assyrian ; the silver
is considerably oxidised, but the work inside is quite
Chap. XI. ] TREASURE OF CURIUM. 331
distinct. Another patera, which was found by itself
with several gold leaves inside, is also engraved, and
332 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI.
is of pure Egyptian workmanship ; at least the repre-
sentations upon it are Egyptian. Among the silver
vases is a goblet with a row of aquatic birds round its
rim ; also several other paterae with flowers and other
ornaments in relief.
In Room E were found two bronze lamps, three
fibulae of the same metal, fourteen alabaster vases,
groups in terra-cotta representing various scenes of
domestic life, horses and warriors, women carrying
jars on their heads. Deserving of notice is a little
chariot in calcareous stone carrying two bearded
men, and drawn by two horses whose trappings are
identical with those on the sarcophagus of Amathus.
There were also many terra-cotta vases with designs
and with figures in relief. One having a cover
and four handles is remarkable for its shape and size,
as well as for the richness of the designs painted
on it.
It was found at the entrance of Room D, leading to
Room E, broken to pieces, and belongs to the earliest
class of Greek vases. One would hardly hesitate to say
that this vase must have come from Athens, if he were
not assured of its having been found at Curium in.
Cyprus ; and even then it would still be allowable to
assume that it had been imported from Athens in
ancient times ; so close in all points, except perhaps
its remarkable size and beauty, is the resemblance
between it and the earliest Athenian pottery. The
characteristic of this class of pottery is that the entire
surface of the vase is so far as possible covered by
geometric patterns arranged in parallel rows and sec-
tions divided into squares. In addition to these
geometric patterns, we have on the same vase occa-
sionally animal figures, most generally the horse and
the swan, but for what reason the preference is given
to these two, it is impossible to determine. It
M
OKNAM£NTS FROM CURIUM.
TERRA-COITA VASE FROM CURIUM.
Chap. XL] ARCHAIC VASE FROM CURIUM. 333
seems at first sight that while the geometric patterns
are executed with precision, as if from long practice,
the animal forms on the other hand are exceedingly
rude, as if they were the first attempts at drawing
figures. The geometric patterns, it will be seen, are
such as are most naturally evolved in the processes
of working in metal, and in weaving. For instance,
the rows of spirals which form a frequent and very
graceful element of the design on these vases are nothing
more than a simple application of what is seen in a
piece of gold or bronze wire with its tendency to curl
into spirals. The chess-board and other rectilinear
patterns are no less obviously derived from the process
of weaving.
It is true that an immense number of vases with
geometric patterns, and some also on which rude
figures of horses and swans are introduced beside the
patterns, have been found in Cyprus, and are no doubt
of local manufacture. But they differ conspicuously
from vases of the Athenian class in the adaption of the
patterns. Instead of the graceful lines of spirals for
instance which may be seen on the Curium vase, we
find on the Cypriote pottery almost innumerable
patterns of concentric circles disposed in rows, inter-
334 CYPRUS. [CHAP. XI.
seating each other and grouped in many ways. But
the beauty of the spiral is lost, and in its place we
have an entirely mechanical pattern, which has not
arisen out of any process of workmanship, such as
weaving or metal working, and is therefore not a
primary pattern. It is rather a debasement of the
spiral, and as such may be of a comparatively later
date in the development of the art of pottery.
From the frequency with which the same system of
decoration which occurs on the Curium vase is found
on early Greek pottery on the one hand, and on the
other hand on objects of bronze found in Italy and
north of the Alps, it has been argued that it had been
brought into the peninsulas of Italy and Greece from
the north of Europe. From the fact which appears
from comparative philology, that the Aryan races were
acquainted before their separation with the processes
of weaving and metal working, and from the extreme
probability of the patterns in question having been
evolved from these processes, it is argued that the Aryans
had brought this system of decoration with them in
their descent over the Alps and Balkans, down into
Italy and Greece, and accordingly the system of decora-
tion has been named ** Indo-European " by Professor
Conze. This theory has been recently examined very
carefully by Helbig, and the result of his enquiry is
given in the **Annalideir Instituto di Correspondenza
Archeologica," 1875, p. 221.
Room F. is a little smaller than the other three, and
had a doorway on its western wall, which led into a
long narrow passage also hewn in the rock, the ter-
mination of which it was impossible for me to find.
The foul air existing within ; its narrowness, preventing
a person either from standing or turning himself;
together with the earth which has filtered through its
porous roof, render its thorough examination a matter of
Chap. XI.] TREASURE CHAMBER. 335
Utter impossibility. Nevertheless I had explored it for
30 feet, when the lights went out, and could not be re-
lighted. The heat was great and very oppressive; crab-
like, we crawled back, happy to have escaped suffocation.
In that tunnel at different distances I found seven bronze
caldrons. Four were broken, I fear by the digger who
preceded me, though he asserts that they were already
in that condition ; the other three I brought out.
They all bear traces of having been placed on the fire,
and are much oxidised.
The objects discovered in Room F were in bronze,
copper, or iron, such as can-
delabra of different shapes,
from seven inches to four
feet high. One of them is
ornamented with a nude
female figure holding a cone
over her head, and for this
reason, probably, a represen-
tation of Venus ; there were
found also lamps, large
bowls, having handles in the
shape of lotus flowers ; one
large bowl, seventeen inches B™i.Tripod.
in diameter, with embossed
work in an Egyptian style, resembling that of the gold
bowl previously described ; a horse bit, a female sandal,
spear heads, vases, cups, buttons, mirrors, anklets,
bracelets, armlets, an iron dagger, with part of its
ivory handle, and a series of bronze ornaments from an
iron chair or throne which had collapsed into a heap.
These ornaments consist of heads of bulls with ena-
melled eyes, large lions' heads, and many other objects,
such as legs of antelopes, and lions' claws ; also a
short bronze object ending in three heads of bulls, with
jewels and pastes in the eyes and foreheads (which
336 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI.
.may have been a sceptre), quadrupeds, birds, tools,
maces, weights, statuettes, fibulse, &c.
Having carefully ascertained that there was nothing
LroDH Cuidebbrx
more to be found in these chambers, I endeavoured, by
boring at different places, to find the continuation of the
tunnel AA, but without success. At twenty-two feet
TREASURE OF CURIUM.
337
below the surface I struck the solid rock in which
the tunnel is excavated. Further northward had stood
a large number of oblong buildings, the foundations
of which are still visible here and there through the
mass of overlying stones. In general they are very
small, the. largest measuring only 33 feet in length by
27 in width.
The last ruin on the north of Curium, outside its
walls (and, I may add, the only one which has pre-
served something of its former shape), is that of the
Hippodrome. Parts of its walls are still standing. The
greatest length is 1296 feet by 84 in width. The height
338 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI.
of the remaining walls is unequal at some places, being
twenty-one feet and at others scarcely eight. There are
no traces of chariot carcereSj and probably there never
were any. Compared with the Hippodrome of Olympia,
this one is insignificant, being scarcely a fourth of its
length. No architectural remains or fragments of
statues were to be seen among the ruins which cover
the area. Outside the Hippodrome the ground is over-
grown with bushes of carob, showing that in ancient
times it was thickly wooded.
More than once, in visiting the ruins of Curium, I
ran the risk of falling into narrow dark pits, made
almost invisible by the bushes grown over them.
Desirous to know their depth, I threw in some stones,
but no sound reverberated ; they seemed bottomless.
With the help of a short ladder, at one extremity of
which two strong ropes were firmly tied, one of my
diggers, bolder than the rest, offered, in the hope of a
reward, to be lowered into one of them. The ladder
was introduced into the mouth of the pit, the man
holding fast to it, while four men gradually slackened
the ropes until he reached the bottom. After all it was
not such an abyss, being only about forty feet deep.
Some bushes which had grown up inside, together with
the quantity of earth washed in by the rain, had
deadened the sound of the stones. I confess it required
a certain amount of courage to venture for the first
time into one of these pits, the favourite resort of
asps and other snakes, in which the site of Curium
abounds.
Afterwards I descended in like manner into several of
them, and measured one which seemed to be among the
largest. It gave the following dimensions : depth 37
feet, greatest width 14 feet ; the bottom was rounded
something like that of an amphora, and scooped into
the solid rock, which afterwards was coated with a
PLATE XXX.
UKiiN/it OHjKtr;
Chap. XI.J EXPLORATION OF CHAMBER. 341
kind of cement like pitch. I came to the conclusion,
after having in this way visited several of them, that
they might have been cisterns. Yet if so, where did
the water come from to fill them ? The occasional rain,
which in Cyprus seldom falls more than two or three
times a year, would have been too uncertain a source
of supply, and also insufficient to fill such depths.
They may have been used as granaries.
I could find no traces of any aqueduct in the city, but
searching outside the walls, a few yards west of the
Hippodrome, I found the remains of an ancient aqueduct
appearing scarcely two feet above the ground. Exca- *
vating southward in a direct line with the city, I met
with its continuation within the walls. This aqueduct
was built in a very economical manner. The rock,
whenever found at. the desired elevation, was hollowed
seven inches deep, and eleven inches wide, so as to
allow the passage of a certain volume of water ; and
when the rock was wanting, a few blocks of stone were
sunk, scooped out, and connected with the others ; thus
the aqueduct was continued for miles with little
expense, and fully answered the purpose for which it
was built. It will be seen also that we have here a
characteristic example of the way in which the Greeks
adapted their system of water conduits to the physical
formation of the districts, cutting tunnels and canals
rather than bridging over valleys, as did the Romans.
It is in consequence of this that so few remains of
ancient Greek aqueducts are now known. The Greeks
seem to have followed the analogy of Nature, in which,
in their own country, they saw the water collected on
the hills, passing for miles along subterranean courses,
and issuing fresh and cool at the coast. In exploring
it beyond the Hippodrome, the ground being level, the
conduit can yet be seen just above the surface for an
uninterrupted distance of 210 yards : then it disappears,
342 CYPRUS. [Chap. XL
to reappear when the ground is on a level with the
Hippodrome.*
Following the traces of the aqueduct north of
Curium, always among very thick bushes from which
start flocks of partridges and francolins, I reached the
ruins of the temple of Apollo Hylates, this locality
being called at the present day by the inhabitants of
* Mr. Murray, the \VTiter of the classical portion of the article
" Aqueduct," in the 9th Edition of the " Encyclopaedia Britannica,"
describes what is known of the ancient Greek systems of water supply,
of which the most celebrated was that of Samos, constructed while
Polycrates was tyrant of that island, the engineer being Eupalinos, who
had previously obtained some fame for his water works at Megara,
carried out about b.c. 625. At Samos the difficulty lay in a hill which
rose between the town and the water source. Through this hill Eupa-
linos cut a tunnel 8 feet broad, 8 feet high, and 4200 feet long, and
built within this tunnel a channel 3 feet broad and 11 inches deep.
The water was all the way open to the air, and was received at the lower
end by a conduit of masonry and thence spread through the town. In
Athens, under the rule of Pisistratus (b.c. 560), a similarly extensive,
but less difficult series of works was completed to bring water from the
hills Hymettus, Pentelicus, and Pames. Pentelicus supplied a conduit
which can still be traced from the modem village of Chalandri by the
air shafts built several feet above the ground, and at a distance apart of
fifty or sixty yards. The diameter of these shafts is four to five feet,
and the number of them still preserved is about fifty. Some of these
conduits continue to supply Athens to this day, and are described as
marvels of enterprise and skill. (See E. Curtius, " Ueber die Wasser-
bauten der Hellenen,'* in the Archaeol. Zeitung, 1847, page 19.) In
Sicily the works by which Empedocles, it is said, brought the water into
the town of Selinus are no longer visible, but it is probable that, like
those of Syracuse, they consisted chiefly of tunnels and pipes laid under
ground. The system of conduits in Syracuse, which Thucydides says
(x. 100) the Athenians partly destroyed in the Sicilian expedition, still
supplies the town with an abundance of drinkable water. An example
of what appears to have been the earliest form of acjueducts in Greece
has been discovered in the island of Cos beside the fountain
Burinna on Mount Oromedon. It consists of a bell-shai)ed chamber
Luilt underground in the hill side to receive the water of the spring and
keep it cool. A shaft, rising from the top of the chamber, supplies
fresh air.
Chap. XL] ANCIENT AQUEDUCT. 34.3
the neighbouring villages Apellon. Its ancient name
was Hyle, and it was from this that the epithet Hylates
was derived. The town itself, some debris of which are
seen a little east of the temple, appears to have been
insignificant.
The mass of stones on the ground shows that the
temple had been a magnificent edifice. It probably faced
the sea, from which it was only a thousand yards distant,
and was entirely surrounded by a forest. This temple
was seventy-nine feet in length, and thirty-two in width.
Its columns, in white marble and bluish granite, are
lying scattered in every direction. They are of different
dimensions. The largest measure three feet two inches
in diameter ; the next in size two feet ; and the smallest
sixteen inches. Portions of the latter stand on their
bases. This spot is well worthy of systematic explora-
tion, but that could not be accomplished without ample
funds. I dug along the eastern foundations for several
weeks, and laid bare a part of the pavement, but met
with no sculptured remains, except a few terra-cotta
warriors with helmet and shield, and the fragments of a
very large earthenware jar inscribed in Greek letters
with a dedication to Apollo Hylates. The latter were
found beneath the stone pavement of the temple.
Within the area of the temple I found also several
mutilated Greek inscriptions, on one of which occurs
the name of Ptolemy Philadelphus and Cleopatra.
Near the temple are the ruins of a rectangular building
which may have been the abode of the priests of
Apollo.
At this point the view from the west is imposing
in the extreme. Rising abruptly from the sea is the
promontory, I believe, spoken of by Strabo, from
whence, he says, those who touched the altar of
Apollo with their hands were precipitated into the sea.
What meaning may have been behind this we do not
344 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI
know. Engel (ii. p. 667) thinks it must have been as
an act of atbnement for bloodshed that persons were
hurled from the rock. He points out that the worship
itadi. From temple of Apollo Hylmi
of Apollo here was particularly that of a " purifying "
god, and remarks also that Cephalos, who was the first
to leap from the Leucadian rock to purify himself from
the blood of Procris, was connected with the mythology
of Cyprus.
In a ravine south-east of these ruins I came upon a
pit full of broken statues, and in its vicinity a little
mound containing a great mass of hands, feet, and
Chap. XI] TEMPE.E OF APOLLO HVLATES. 345
legs, belonging to the same ; it is probable that these
statues had come from the temple of Apollo. These
fragments were all in calcareous stone, and bore
evidence of having been purposely destroyed. Among
them were two white marble statuettes about two feet
high and a small one of
bronze 7^ inches high,
probably representing
Apollo, of fine Greek
workmanship. On some
bases of statuettes in
calcareous stone found
in the mound mention-
ed before, the name of
Apollo is inscribed in
Cypriote characters.
In another locality,
always in the ravine
above mentioned but
farther west, I dis-
covered some twenty-
five statuettes in cal-
careous stone, repre-
senting a youth seated
after the oriental
fashion, and having a
number of amulets a-
round his neck. On i^,„„ FiKu.c.
the base of some of
them is also inscribed the name of Apollo in Cypriote
characters. I may remark here that statuettes identi-
cal with these have been found everywhere in the
island, at Golgoi, Dali, Amathus, Curium, Carpass,
etc., etc.
The harvest season having commenced, I was obliged
to let my men return to their homes, and give up the
346 CYPRUS. [CHAP. XI.
explorations. I therefore prepared to return to Larnaca.
Instead, however, of taking the regular route to Limas-
sol, I resolved to keep to the coast, and go around the
promontory of Curias. The country from Curium to the
Cape is an open and very fertile plain ; yet on account
of the torrents from the mountains north of Episkopi,
which in winter bring down and cover the fields with
roots, stones, and dead trees,
the riding is rendered difiicult
and slow, and I spent more
than two hours in reaching the
Cape. On the way, I passed
an old Greek church, dedicated
to St, George who has now as
many shrines in Cyprus as
Apollo formerly had temples.
It had some large capitals of
columns taken from Curium,
and some early Christian mor-
tuary cippi. East of this
church, some ten minutes' ride,
is a little village of about fifty
houses.all stone-built, inhabited
exclusivelyby Christians, called
Acrotiri. Further east of this
village arise the commanding
ruins of a large Byzantine
Greek convent, with a church
in a tolerably good condition, dedicated to Aghios
Nicholas. This edifice, made of square blocks of lime-
stone, is oblong, two stories high, and is erected in the
centre of a square, measuring 385 yards each way, for-
merly surrounded by a thick hedge of box-wood. On
the lintel of a doorway cut in the eastern wall, to the
right of the great entrance, are sculptured five shields,
the centre one having the arms of the Lusignan kings.
Chap. XL] GREEK CONVENT. 347
The material used in the decoration, if not in the building
of this convent, and the many marble columns strewn
over the ground, are all spoils from Curium, Nearing
Cape Curias I passed some small ruins, where I observed
traces of a few ancient
habitations and several
tombs, which appeared to
me of great antiquity.
The guide I took from
Acrotiri insisted that this
place is called Curi, and
that a few years ago a
French " Milordo " came
expressly from Limassol
to visit it, and employed
several of his fellow towns-
men of Acrotiri to dig at Th.« c-uchcd st.iMi.n wkh Amui=i.
this place ; in fact the """"^ ""=■' """^
ground bears evident traces of having been but recently
disturbed.
I alighted from my mule, and had some tombs
examined, and from the pottery
extracted I am sure that they
are coeval with the tombs at
Curium.
Passing the Cape, my mule
was startled by the sudden flight
from a bush, of what appeared
to me to be a cat; and the guide
assured me, that both at the
Cape, and near to Acrotiri, there
are wild cats, which hunt and *'"p'"'"'"' '"■" ' " "*
destroy the asps abounding there. I recollected to
have read somewhere, perhaps in Dapper, that the
" Caloyers " of the convent of Acrotiri raised and
trained a peculiar breed of cats, which they imported
348 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI.
from Constantinople, to kill the asps in their neigh-
bourhood, and that at the tolling of a particular
bell in the convent, these cats would come in to be fed
twice a day, and then return to their work of destruction.
I suppose that it is in reference to these cats that the
ancient promontory of Curias is now known as Cape
Gatto, or Delle Gatte.
After an absence of nearly six months I arrived once
more in Larnaca, and very glad was I to enjoy again
the endearments of home. Unfortunately I found my
wife very much depressed and out of health. The
lonely life she had led for so many years, with the
exception of an occasional visit to Europe, and a
few months in America, began to show its effects on
her constitution, and I felt that it was my duty to
bring my explorations to a close. Even had this not
been the case, the work of exploring which I had
undertaken on my return from the United States in
1873, was to have been carried on at the instance of
the Trustees of the New York Museum, but owing
to the financial crisis which followed in that city, I
had to proceed at my own expense, and this had
absorbed almost all my private means. However, I con-
sidered myself very fortunate in having been able so
successfully to complete my explorations with the re-
sources I possessed.
The accidental death of Dr. Siegismund, a few months
previous, while visiting one of the tombs I had ex-
cavated at Amathus, affected my wife very seriously,
and she was ever after in dread lest I should suffer a
similar fate. It required no small courage and devotion
for one brought up in the refinements and luxuries of a
great city, to pass more than ten years amid the arid life
of a small oriental town, where, with the exception of
one or two ladies of the Consular corps, which was
continually being changed, there was neither society nor
Chap. XL] DEPARTURE FROM CYPRUS. 349
recreation. The excitement of my discoveries was her
sole distraction, and though the cares and solicitudes of
a mother prevented her from following me to the more
distant scenes of my excavations, yet in many ways
more quiet and unpretending she afforded me very
valuable assistance. I saw plainly that she longed to
revisit her native land, and great therefore was her
delight when she heard of my intention to leave Cyprus
soon, for ever, and return to America. In accordance
with this resolve I packed up all -my recent discoveries
and shipped them direct to the New York Museum, with
the exception of the gold objects found at Curium, which
I decided were too valuable to be risked under any but
our immediate care.
Having obtained a six months' leave of absence from
the American Government, we took our last walk in
the environs of Larnaca, where the Marina appears to
its best advantage. Passing the Salines, the site of
my first excavations, and the ruins of Phaneromene on
our right, we were soon in the fields, which were yet
in all their vernal glory. Pink and white anemones,
dark blue irises, intensely scarlet poppies, golden mar-
guerites, and a thousand lovely blossoms, of which I do
not even know the names, embroidered the plains with
the most brilliant colours imaginable. We crushed the
wild thyme and mignonette at every step, and yet they
seemed to offer us their incense at parting. A torrid
sun would soon leave all a dreary waste. Mount Santa
Croce seemed to follow us through all our walk, ever
changing in aspect, now cool and brown as clouds
floated over it, now glowing crimson in the setting sun.
The lighted minarets of Larnaca and the Marina
shone in the distance, and as we neared the latter we
heard the voice of the Muazin calling the faithful to
prayer. As we entered our own spacious garden, which
had been reclaimed from the sea-shore, with its lovely
350 CYPRUS. [Chap. XI.
roses such as bloom only in Cyprus, its vine-covered
walls, and the pretty conceits with which my wife's
fancy had embellished it, a slight shade of regret passed
over us, as we thought how soon neglect might turn
the spot, then the admiration of visitors, once more into
an unsightly waste.
An extensive terrace overlooked the garden, and as
we walked on it in the moonlight on that our last
evening, a magical charm seemed to have been thrown
on the garden and on the rippling gleaming waves of
the Mediterranean, so that while gazing on the scene
we almost forgot the dark side of life in Cyprus, and a
sense of tenderness stole into our hearts for the land we
were leaving on the morrow.
APPENDICES.
THE RINGS AND GEMS IN THE
TREASURE OF CURIUM.
By C. W. king, M.A.
TREASURE OF CURIUM.
The Greek islands always appear as the cradle of the art
of gem-engraving, in the very scanty notices of the history of
that art preserved to us by ancient writers. The earliest of
all engravers mentioned by name is Mnesarchus, more know^n
in after times as father of Pythagoras, who, expelled by the
Athenians along with his countrymen from one of the islands
(probably Lemnos)* settled with them at Samos, some time
before B.C. 570, where (as Apuleiust says) ** he sought for fame
rather than riches by engraving gems in the most skilful
manner." In the same island Theodorus, half a centuty later,
immortalised his name by the far-famed signet of Polycrates,
so prized by the owner as to be deemed an equivalent for all
the other gifts of over-kind Fortune. f And by a remarkable
comcidence, the only record remaining of the selling-price of
an intaglio in ancient times is connected with Cyprus, for
Pliny § relates that in the century following the date of
Theodorus, the celebrated musician Ismenias was so taken
with the description of an emerald engraved with an Amymone
then on sale in Cyprus, that he sent to buy it at the price
named (six pieces of gold, a large sum for those frugal days of
Greece), and complained that the gem was insulted when its
price had been beaten down to four ; and truly, if this
Amymone equalled in artistic value some of the glyptic works
in the collection now to be described, every man of taste
will sympathise in the whimsical remonstrance of the ancient
* Diogenes Laertius, " Life of Pythagoras." t In his " Florida."
X Herodotus, iii. 41. § Hist. Nat. xxxvii. 3.
A A
354 APPENDIX.
dilettante. In his time, on the mainland of Greece, the
signet-rings of the highest class (as appears from Euripides'
allusions)* were made entirely of gold, and passages of
Aristophanes and Xenophon clearly show that in general they
were of base metal, of trifling value, not works of art but
articles of household use.t Atteius Capito, the noted antiquary
of the Augustan age, makes the same general remark for
Italy, that the earliest signets were cut in the metal of the
ring, whether that were gold or iron. J And in Couthern
Italy, where, at a later period, gem engraving so wonderfully
flourished, the cemeteries of the first colonists from Greece
(Cumae for example) yield nothing in this way to explorers
except poorly executed signet-rings of silver. The same
conclusion may be confidently deduced from the appearance
of the coinage of different localities, so dissimilar are both
manner and technical execution of the dies cut by artists
accustomed to work in the ** hard stones," and by those who
have had during all their career only to deal with metal. §
The discovery of the Treasure of Curium is a true revela-
tion of the history of the Glyptic Art, in its rise and
progress from the earliest times down to the beginning of the
fifth century before our era ; and an attempt has been made
in the following catalogue so to classify the various families of
gems it contains as to illustrate their connection with each
other, and trace their development into complete perfection —
a state, fortunately for us, just attained when the whole
accumulation of the donaria of many generations was con-
signed in hurried alarm to its long hiding-place.
ASSYRIAN ART.
Evidences of Assyrian domination were naturally to be
looked for in an island whose kings are recorded as doing
homage to Assurbanipal, upon his expedition to Egypt, B.C.
620. Of one of those very kings, Eteandros of Paphos, the
* Speaking of Agamemnon's and Phaedra's signets.
t Being used for securing the receptacles of stores, before locks were
invented. They could be bought for half a drachma ; see Thesmopho-
riazusae, 425 ; Anabasis, iv. 7.
X Quoted by Macrobius, Sat. vii. 1 3.
§ Compare the coins struck in Cilicia under the Persian domination, and
the contemporary mintages of the mainland of Greece.
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 355
votive bracelets are the most valuable historical monument
in the Treasure — if they do not surpass in interest any former
discovery of the kind. Together with them were deposited
three cylinders, of high importance on account of their early
date and excellent workmanship : one of them designating
itself the signet ** of the servant of Narani-Sin," and which
it is no very great straining of probabilities to regard as the
offering of some Assyrian official stationed in the island, as
** Resident" at the court of some tributary prince. If the more
remote Crete was subject to the " Medes" in the 30th Olympiad
(B.C. 750), when, according to Pliny,* Dipoenus and Scyllis
emigrated thence and brought the art of sculpturing stone
into Sicyon — Cyprus, lying just off the coast of Asia, must
naturally have been held yet more firmly in the grasp of the
great Assyrian conqueror. In addition to the three cylinders
found amongst the donaria, many others were dug up in the
debris of the Temple, and amongst the other ruins of Curium.
These are all of small size (about an inch long) and of the
commonest workmanship, in the cheapest material, green
serpentine, the evident signets of plebeians. The only excep-
tions are one of superior finish in black haematite, and
another yet smaller in fine sard, engraved with a man stand-
ing, with arms crossed on his breaiU, before whom sits a
gryphon looking up at him, backed by a god, under whom
reclines an antelope. Very remarkable for material is a third
in dark blue glass ; but whatever design it may originally have
borne, is now entirely effaced by the corrosion of its surface.
It is possible that these scattered cylinders were not in wear
at the time of the destruction of the city, but had been
deposited, as memorials, in the foundations of public build-
ings at the time of their erection. Such was undoubtedly the
Assyrian custom ; for, not to speak of isolated cases, M. Place
(Botta's successor in the explorations of Nineveh) found in
one part of the city wall, a layer of " many thousand "
cylinders, laid there as the building first rose to the level of
the platform ; on the same principle as we now deposit the
current coins of the realm upon similar occasions.
• Hist. Nat. xxxvi. 4.
A A J
356 APPENDIX.
EGYPTIAN AND PHCENICIAN WORKS.
Whenever Homer has occasion to mention any article of
ornament or elegance, he invariably assigns its authorship
either to some god, or else to the Sidonians, which probably
meant the same thing. It is a Phoenician trader who offers
for sale to the Queen of Syra a necklet of gold, hung at
intervals with amber pendants. Sidonian women stain ivory
carvings purple for the decoration of household furniture and
of horse trappings ; the six-gallon crater, offered by Achilles
for a prize at the funeral games, was without its equal in the
world, " because it was wrought by Sidonian craftsmen, and
carried by Tyrian mariners to King Thoas of'Lemnos;** and
the elaborate corselet of Agamemnon, damascened with gold,
tin, and niello — the gift of Cinyras of Paphos, could only have
been produced by a Phoenician armourer.* ! The bronze dishes
found in such abundance in the palace cellars at Nineveh,
with their curious ornamentation by incised lines, are now
known to be importations from Phoenicia : equally so were the
magnificent silver paterae of the Temple of Curium, with their
impartial mixture of Assyrian and Egyptian types. For the
Phoenicians, unequalled as mechanics, had no national style of
their own ; they were a race totally devoid of original genius,
taking for models the sculptures of Assyria or of Egypt, ac-
cording as either empire chanced to include their narrow strip
of seaboard within its own limits. But they have the merit
of being the fathers of European gem-engraving, for they
imported their scarabaei as articles of trade in their stock of
trinkets, wherever they carried their commerce — a fact of
which the deposits at Tharros in Sardinia, equally with the
donaria at Curium, furnish abundant proof. The Phoenicians
had the best of reasons for their predilection for the scarabaeus
form over that of the cylinder or cone universally prevalent
with their first instructors in the art of engraving on the
** hard stones ; '* for the insect was the special symbol of
Ptha, "the great artificer," their own Mulciber, *' mighty
king," sire of their national protectors, the Cabiri, '* great
ones," those master masons whose worship they spread wherever
they planted colonies.
It may be asked with good reason why so many scarabaei
* Od. XV. 460. II. XX ii. 740 ; xi. 20.
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 357
among the gems here catalogued bearing regular Egyptian
types, should be assigned to Phoenician rather than to
Eg>'ptian artists ; and what are the tests employed for dis-
tinguishing the two manufactures? The distinction rests
mainly upon two observations — of material, and of execution.
Scarabaei, found under circumstances that leave no doubt as to
their native origin, as on the fingers and in the mummy cases
of deceased Egyptians, are generally cut with the graver in
soft stone (steaschist), often coated with blue enamel ; or else
have been made by stamps in clay vitrified ; and the very small
proportion, under similar conditions, that are found in "hard
stones '* have their devices roughly scratched into the field in
a way that betrays the most rudimentary stage of the lapidary's
art. There is again a distinction of yet greater strength, as
indicating a total dissimilarity of ideas in the invention of these
signets. In all Egyptian scarabaei the figures of animals, even
when exhibited on a larger scale than the other details of the
type, are merely parts of one hieroglyphic legend, and are
crowded up with a multiplicity of other symbols required for
the completion of the sense. On the contrary, in Phoenician
work, the hieratic figure — whether of god, hawk, or sphinx,
becomes the type of the signet, loses its conventional stiffness,
is cleared from the crowd of accessories, is drawn correctly,
and executed with a precision that proves the mechanical
part of the engraver's art to have already been carried to a
degree of perfection never afterwards surpassed. Animals, for
the most part imaginary, gryphons and sphinxes, but often ac-
curately copied from nature, form the great staple of Phoenician
art, as the following list (which gives a far more complete view
of the whole subject than has hitherto been in anyone's power
to present) will abundantly exhibit. The human figure, in a
mere mortal sense, they never attempted. It is evident that
all their gems served the double purpose of signets and of
talismans, all embodying religious ideas ; and that even the
real animals so often represented only received this honour as
being the attributes and by ready transition the emblems of
deities w^hose good graces the wearer hoped in this material
way to secure for himself.
These Phoenician works were evidently the models followed
by the primitive Greeks, of whom the first essays in glyptics
are the rudely polished and perforated pebbles found in
the ^gean Islands (to which attention has only recently
358 APPENDIX.
been directed), bearing figures of animals, generally in forced
attitudes, of the same kinds as those chosen by the Phoenician
artists. The Greeks, however, like the Tyrrhenes of Italy
(starting equally from Phoenician rudiments), following their
natural genius, soon passed on to the human figure and
the subjects of common life ; and some of the gems in this
collection, the Three Cypriote Warriors for example, or the
Two Combatants, afford most interesting specimens of their
apprenticeship in the art. They discarded the scarabceusj or
complete figure of the Beetle of Ptha, which had no religious
recommendation in their belief, and adopted the simplified
scarabeoid, a thick elliptical disk of sard or calcedony, still
retaining its perforation, necessary for either mounting in a
swivel ring, or wearing on a string tied round the wrist like
the primitive Assyrian cylinder — a fashion retained to the
present day by some of the hill tribes of Northern India. In
the whole Treasure but one gem occurs set in a ring, in our
sense of the word, and even that one appears devised as an
expedient to remedy a partial destruction of the stone. It is
indeed very probable that some of the intagli of mystic de-
vices, here classed with the Phoenician, are really the works
of Cypriote engravers, for the religion of the island was, to
the last, strongly tinctured with the notions of her earliest
colotiisers.
GREEK WORKS.
The indisputably Greek works comprised amongst the
votive offerings, form only a small proportion of the whole ;
but those few are of extraordinary merit, and fortunately
include incomparable specimens of the two branches of
glyphics : engraving in metal, and in ** hard stones." Of
these, the earliest in date are clearly those cut in the actual
metal of the ring, as the Hercules with the Nemean lion,
and the very singular type of the Two Sirens with wreaths
and lyres ; but two of the intagli in the other class equal or
perhaps surpass in every point of artistic value any gem work
previously known in the archaic style — ^these are the Rape
of Proserpine, and the Boreas and Orithyia. Remarkable
also for fine execution are the archaic Nemesis with the
Serpent ; the Victory with great wings in the ** Perfect " style,
and the Sleeping Hound, and some others; which from the
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 359
complete knowledge of drawing they display, cannot be
referred to a period much anterior to the concealment of the
Treasure. One remark must be made here on the nature of
their subjects, for they afford a proof of a still early period of
Greek taste : they include no scenes from the Epic Cycle,
which in the course of the fifth century before our era became
the regular repertory of artists in every branch, and scenes
from which have the predominance amongst the finely executed
intagli belonging to the later years of the archaic period.
Their subjects, again, tell that these were the signets of ladies
— and coupling this circumstance with the epoch of their
style, we may be pardoned for giving the reins for a moment
to fancy, and seeing in these priceless jewels the last offerings
of despairing matrons to their tutelary goddess, when on the
fatal day of Amathus the cowardice of their own Prince,
Stasenor, had turned the scale of victory in favour of the
Persians, and all hope of earthly aid had vanished with the
death of the gallant Onesilos.
RINGS, ORNAMENTAL AND SIGNET.
The Greeks, as the name records, were the inventors of the
finger-ring, boKTvkios, as distinguished from the (r4>payls, the
actual signet, engraved in any material, hard or soft stone, and
of any shape — cylinder, cone, or scarabaeus — worn on the neck,
wrist, or finger, by cord, wire, or swivel-ring.
The Finger-rings, and the settings of the signet-stones, are
now to be passed in review, and will be found to offer much
that is both novel and interesting to the dactyliologist.
The finger-rings are of several patterns, the most ancient
being those merely decorative in the Egyptian taste, repre-
senting a coiled asp. An elegant idea of a plaited cord of
many strands is seen in one example. Many are of the make
so commonly found in the cemeteries of Southern Italy, but of
less massy proportions, consistently with the inferior opulence
of their insular wearers — a plain, three-sided shank swelling
out into a broad elliptical beasil, in no single instance engraved
with any device (which, too, is the case with the Campanian),
but polished to the highest degree. Inghirami figures * the
sepulchral effigy of an Etruscan lady, wearing rings of this
* Monumcnti Etruschi, ' Corredo/
360 APPENDIX.
identical make on the thumb and ring-finger of the same hand
— a sure evidence that this particular fashion of ring belongs
to the feminine toilette. Then come a few solid gold rings,
engraved for the use of signets ; in two of the most elegant,
the devices show a Phoenician origin, cultured into beauty
by Hellenic taste ; in others, for example the Hercules and
Lion, the Greek style appears fully established. It is curious
to observe in the engraved metal and gems alike, how much
sooner perfection was attained in the animals than in the
human figure, which, in these incised designs, still retains the
stiffness of the Assyrian sculptures.
The settings of the true (r</j/)ayI6€s seem wonderfully uniform
and simple to any one acquainted with the variety of elaborate
patterns — the filigree collets, shanks terminating in animals'
heads, or formed as serpents — in which the contemporary
Etruscans were accustomed to mount their scarabaei. Heavy
and light alike, all follow the artless Egyptian plan of a stout
gold or silver wire, bent into an elliptical form, tapering
towards the ends, which become the pivots on which the collet
enchasing the scarabseus or scarabeoid can be made to revolve.
The only improvement upon the model was the omission of
the clumsy expedient for securing the gem in its place, by
stringing it on a wire, the ends of which were then wound
round either extremity of the shank. In another respect, also,
they differ from the Egyptian ; their larger diameter shows
they were not intended for wearing on the finger ; and the
most weighty, in both metals, actually have broad loops
affixed to the exterior circumference to receive the cord by
which they were suspended from the neck.* Not one example,
strange to say, occurs amongst so many Phoenician gems, of
the regular Phoenician method of bending the shank back upon
itself to form a similar loop ; and which prevails so generally
amongst the signets from Tharros. It is evident that Eg}^pt
had set the fashion in this matter to the nobles of Curium, and
the earliest Egyptian signets in the Treasure are closely copied
in this particular, for the mountings of the purest Greek intagli.
These early Eg>'ptian works must have come to the island by
way of trade, for Amasis, who, Herodotus expressly says, was
♦ They explain an item in the list of the donaria of the Parthenon : "Two
glass signets, of different colours, set in gold, and having gold chains attached
to them.'' (Chandler's Travels, Part II., No. IV., 2.)
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 361
the first to reduce Cyprus to subjection, reigned only a few
years before its final surrender to Cambyses.
The silver swivel rings, which for the most part contain the
gems of true Greek work, are remarkable for their great size
and weight ; the shank in some is of the bigness of the little
finger, tapering down to a fine point at the pivots. Some
gems have the collet of gold, and the shank of silver; in
others an outward form of richness has been simulated by
plating a copper or silver core with gold. All the gems,
whether engraved or not, are similarly mounted (with very
few exceptions, to be noticed as they occur), the only one
found loose being a minute scarabaeus of plasma, without
device, probably a bead. The settings (to avoid needless
repetition) are mentioned in the following list, only in cases
where they offer anything of interest.
Amongst the gold ornaments the most numerous are cer-
tain annular objects, the use of which it is difficult even to
conjecture. These are hollow tubes of gold, in some few
instances with a copper core, for the most part of about
the thickness of a crow quill, bent circularly so as to make
two complete turns upon itself. Some few have ornamental
tips finishing off the ends ; but the generality leave the
sections of the pipe uncovered. Their discoverer imagined
them to be *' ring-money," on account of their being deposited
in such large quantities, coupled with the fact that no coins
of any kind were found in the Treasure, where something
serving the same use would naturally be looked for. But
this explanation is controverted by the circumstance that the
ring-money, as represented in Egyptian paintings, equally
with that still current amongst the Joliba negroes, is in-
variably in the form of single penannular rings. Besides,
ring-money is from its nature required to be solid. The
hollowness of the articles in question bespeaks ornament,
where the largest amount of show was to be extracted from
the smallest possible expenditure of the precious metal. A
little light, however, seems thrown on the difficulty by two
words of Homer, who in describing the brooch fastening
Ulysses' mantle, says it was **made with * double pipes,'
aiAom 6i6t/xoiT4, and in front there was a figure in relief."*
* Odyss. xix. 227. balhakoVf properly any image in wood or metal. Some
of the rings in question have leaf-like chasings affixed to them. They were
362 APPENDIX.
Now this expression is very applicable to a gold tube making
a double turn as in this case, and such would be available
for securing a robe like the chlamys by its two ends passed
through the opening ; after the present fashion for fastening
a scarf. Or, there is an alternative — the early Athenians
(and the same remark necessarily holds good for the lonians
also) are described by Thucydides as fastening up the hair
over the forehead in a bunch, by means of golden figures of
the Cigala; for which purpose a ring at the back of the
insect was the most obvious expedient. Some Greek heads
of nymphs which represent the hair fastened in a small tuft
at the back, appear as if a ring were used for the purpose.
In the famous Turin Isis (with the Ethiopic inscription) the
hair, twisted into two long tresses, is passed through a fasten-
ing shaped as a mask, upon the breast, and twice again
through rings placed at intervals. If the Cypriote ladies ever
followed the fashion set by the Universal Mother, the orna-
mental ends of these spirals, and the foliated appendages which
some of them carry, would have produced considerable effect.
To bring the notices of gold work under a single head, the
subjects cut in the gold rings will be now described, although
in point of date they are more recent than the majority of the
gems.
GOLD RINGS.
1. Two Sirens (or Harpies, the same type serving for both),
birds with women's heads, each holding a lyre and a wreath,
placed foot to foot on opposite sides of a large " Greek honey-
suckle,"* occupying the middle of the field. Exquisitely
engraved on the gold face of a ring, an oblong three-quarters
by half an inch, with two strangely shaped incisions on each
side, giving it the outline of a Carian shield, which, together
with its emblasoning, the ring was probably intended to repre-
sent, although the significant device leaves little doubt as to
the pacific character of the profession of the fair one who
offered it at the shrine.
2. Two lions, regardant and couchant (heraldically speaking),
not ear-rings (as some have thought), as no provision has been made for
entering the lobe of the ear. Similar trinkets were found by Schliemann in
his " Palace of Priam."
* The simplified form of the Assyrian Honiy Tree of Life.
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 363
facing opposite ways, with very long tails, elevated in
symmetrical curves. Below, on a second level, two sphinxes,
face to face. A graceful design, engraved with the utmost
delicacy on the face of a ring, five-eighths of an inch square.
The form of the ring itself displays equally consummate taste ;
the head is slightly indented on two sides, between the two
types, so as somewhat to approach a quatrefoil in outline,
each member of which is gracefully scooped out at the back,
imitating, probably, the calyx of a flower, into which the shank
enters after the manner of the stalk. Taking into account
the typical signification of the sphinx and the lion in early
symbolism, a device of such dignity as this could only have
been borne by a lady of royal blood.
3. Hercules encountering the Nemean lion, though not with
a club, as in later art, but with a regular lasso which he
tightens round its body, while he grasps the mane with his
other hand. The model has evidently been the type of the
god and lion, so frequent in Assyrian works, but advanced
a step by the Greek sense of Nature. The lion is admirably
drawn, but the human figure continues stiff and archaic, that
branch of design having been the last to reach perfection.
Deeply cut in the oval face of a solid gold ring, of the usual
Greek pattern.
4. Man and woman, facing each other, both holding up the
right hand as if in adjuration. The man is nude, the woman clad
in a long tunic, with her hair falling in a full queue down her
back. The gesture shows this to be a betrothal ring, from
its resemblance to the type, of ascertained meaning, so fre-
quent on gems of Roman times. Within a plain " Etruscan
border," on the vestca-pisces shaped (ace of a solid gold ring, of
small size.
SPECIES OF GEMS FOUND IN THE VOTIVE OFFERINGS.
Thej'eweller's stock of gems was evidently very restricted up
to the date of the latest contributions to the Sacristy. Many
of the finest swivel rings of gold are set with sards and
banded agates (sardonyx cut transversely), not engraved, but
highly polished on both sides, meant for mere ornament, as
precious stones of highest price. Of the latter material are
many cylindrical pieces, about an inch long, slightly barrel-
shaped, not bored, but with the ends tipped with gold, intended
364 APPENDIX.
for the centres of necklaces, of the same fashion as that found
in the ** House of Holconius" at Pompeii. The estimation in
which the species was held, is strikingly manifested by two
massy gold bracelets, representing, by embossed work, three
rows of beads, which have for their centre a round and an oval
sardonyx respectively, of large size, but of very inferior quality.
The circumstance reminds us that what was shown in Pliny's
days for the veritable ring of Polycrates,* was set with an
unengraved sardonyx, ** gemma intacta illibata." Not even
the common garnet, so frequent in the Cypriote mortuary
jewels of later ages, is to be discovered amongst these samples
of the primitive wealth of the island ; which in this respect
bears a wonderful resemblance to that of the early inhabitants
of Assyria. Lapis lazuli must have held the highest place in
the scale of value : it only occurs in very small pieces, as an
adjunct to the most elaborate earrings. Of plasma (the
ancient jaspis) two specimens of fine clear quality are met with
in scarabaii, one set in a gold ring, the other not engraved nor
mounted ; and two scarabaeoids of a hitherto unknown variety
of the gem, to be described in their proper place in the Greek
series. In black haematite, besides the cylinders, a truly
novel style of work presents itself — a frog in full relief, about
an inch long, cleverly done and beautifully polished. With it
came another carving in the same material, but of less skilful
work, supposed to represent a goose's head. Exquisite for
taste and finish are two miniature ** Sacred Baskets," com-
monly seen in the -hands of Assyrian gods : the one cut out of
haematite, the other of lustrous sard ; with covers and handles
added in goldsmith's work, of a gracefulness and delicacy that
surpasses all description. Examples of consummate skill in the
lapidary's art are the numerous minute Tortoises in full relief,
in sardonyx and agate — that deeply significant attribute assigned
with such good reason to the Feminine Principle of Nature,
wherever she was worshipped, and whether named Mylitta,
Aphrodite, or Venus. Rock-cr>'stal occurs in the form of a
thick hoop ring, lined with gold, an unexpected example at
this early date of a fashion hitherto supposed to belong to late
Roman times ; it has also been used for one or two of the
intagli, which shows that Theophrastus was right in number-
ing crystal amongst the stones '*out of which signets are
♦ Hist. Nat., xxxvii. 2.
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 365
made." But the most extraordinary memorial of its use in
Cyprus is a perfume-vase of the regular Egyptian shape, about
six inches in height, with two small handles wrought out of its
substance upon the shoulders ; the top encased in gold, and
furnished with a lid of the same metal attached by a short
chain of the so-called Trichinopoly pattern, both ornamented
with designs in filigree : the whole mounting, for taste and
execution, offering the most perfect specimen of antique
metal-work that can possibly be imagined, and which would
be a valuable model to our own jewellers in the designing of
similar articles of the toilette. With this were found two
others, also in crystal, of half the size, more squat proportions,
and unfurnished with mounting.
The single specimen of the use of amber at that period is
an oval disk, carved on each side into a full-faced mask, and
hanging by a loop from a gold earring; bringing vividly to
mind Homer's description, already quoted, of the Phoenician
necklace offered to the Queen of Syra **hung with bits of
amber," doubtless carved in the same way.
AGATE MACE-HEAD. {See p. 309.)
No piece of antique worked agate hitherto known, equals
in magnitude and curiosity the ornament discovered amongst
the bronze and iron articles of the Treasure, engraved p. 309.
It is a sphere about six inches in diameter, black irregularly
veined with white, having the exterior vertically scored with
incised lines, imitating, as it were, the gadroons of a melon.
Through the middle passes a large bore, continued above and
below, through short tubes of the same stone made of separate
pieces. The whole was traversed by a stout rod of metal, now
so completely oxidised as to render it impossible to decide
whether of silver or iron — but probably the latter, to judge
from the company in which it was deposited. The agate was
evidently the head of a mace of state : an idea borrowed from
the Babylonians, every one of whom, as Herodotus notices,
"carried di sceptre (long staff), on the top of which was made
an apple, a rose, a lily, an eagle, or something of the sort." *
The war mace, of the same shape as this agate, is often seen
in the hands of Assyrian soldiers ; and again, in the sculptures
of Persepolis, the Persian usher who introduces each deputa-
* I. 195-
366 APPENDIX.
tion of the subject nations into the royal presence, carries a
staff of office, headed with a ball, doubtless of a precious
material. The "Thousand Guards" of Xerxes carried for
badge a golden apple or pomegranate fixed on the butt-end of
their spears, whence they obtained the name of " Melophoroi,"
apple-bearers. Taking into account the high value placed upon
the agate in the early times of Greece, when it was greatly
prized as a ring-stone (Pliny remarks of it, "Achates in magna
fuit auctoritate, nunc in nulla est"), we may safely conclude
that we have here the memorial of some high functionary at
the Cypriote court, offered in gratitude, perhaps on his retire-
ment from office, to the tutelary goddess of the place.
PASTES.
Many of the swivel rings, and those too among the most
valuable intrinsically, are set with Pastes, substitutes for
precious stones, but so corroded by the nitrous earth of their
hiding place, that what species they originally counterfeited
cannot now be determined. It is, nevertheless, to be perceived
that they were all of them opaque^ and therefore we may infer
that they were imitations of the then so precious lapis lazuli,
the "Royal Gem," as Epiphanus remarks it was anciently
called. A most interesting example will be described in its
own place, where Art has improved upon Nature, by substituting
straight bands of solid gold for the irregular spots of the genuine
lazulite. These pastes are all purely ornamental ; there is but
one dubious example of the imitation of an intaglio (which
afterwards became so common), a poor impression of the
figure of a stag. The process of making paste-signets by
the cheap and facile method of casting in glass upon a matrix
taken from an engraved gem, was evidently still in its
infancy in the Sidonian glass-house. This abundance of
vitreous fabrications was naturally to be looked for in a
country, so much of which was occupied by Phoenician
colonists, and which formed as it were the outpost of Tyre
herself. The Sidonians were the inventors of glass, and the
sand of their river Belus was long believed to have some secret
virtue that enabled it, and it alone, to liquefy into "crystal." *
Actual remains and universal tradition unite to testify that
the first use of the discovery was the making of personal
♦ The Greeks had but one word for the two.
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 367
decorations, and that the vitreous material was solely worked
up into beads and amulets for a great space of time before the
idea occurred to the workers of converting it into vessels for
domestic use. Herodotus, living half a century after the date
of the sack of Curium, had evidently never seen glass except
in the form of paste-gems, which he has to describe by the
circuitous term ** fusible stone.'** Even a century after him
Theophrastus mentions glass as reported to be made by fusion
out of a particular stone ; a proof that the actual process of
glass-making was still totally unknown in Greece. And his
contemporary, King Seleucus of Syria, is described by the Court
annalist Mnesiptolemus as drinking out of a bowl '* of molten
gear," as though the article were even then of the rarest
novelty, befitting the table of the wealthiest monarch of the
day.t The SidoniansJ enjoyed the monopoly of ornamental
paste-making long into Roman times, as is apparent from the
identity of manufacture of the glass beads discovered in the
most widely distant provinces of the empire. But the Treasure
before us reveals the curious fact that as far down as the date
of the siege of Curium, they had not attained to the making of
translucent, much less transparent glass, otherwise their
imitations of precious stones would not have been confined to
the opaque species ; they would at all events have counterfeited
the emerald, a gem even then possessed and highly valued by
their neighbours of Egj'pt, and which, in fact, they at a later
period made in paste with extraordinary success. Neither
had these primitive glass-workers got so far as the turning
their new discovery into vessels for the toilette or table, as is
manifest from the total absence of all such imports in the large
stock of vases and alabastra belonging to the Treasure, where
they must necessarily have found a place if in use before the
cells were closed ; as may safely be inferred from the great
abundance of glass in every form and variety of colour that
the Sidonian factories supplied, exhumed by the same explorer
from the Cypriote cemeteries of later generations.
♦ Speaking of the earrings worn by the sacred crocodiles (ii. 69).
t Athenaeus, x. 40.
X " Sidone quondam his ofificinis nobili," are Pliny's words ; in whose
times glass making had been but recently, "jam vero," introduced into Italy.
All the glass vessels from the Cypriote tombs were probably of Sidonian
manufacture.
368 APPENDIX.
INTAGLI OF THE SIGNETS DESCRIBED.
The Assyrians take the lead in this classification, for thoup^h
probably less ancient than some of the Egyptian in their
company, they are beyond all question the earliest examples
of the true process of engraving in *' hard stones ; " the
Egyptian intagli being merely incised with the graver in much
less obdurate materials.
1. Deity, standing with one foot set upon a recumbent bull :
brandishing in one hand a mace, in the other a rod whence
issue two zig-zag rays, attribute of Iva-Vul, god of thunder.
Before him stands a man, probably the reigning king, before
whom kneels a smaller figure entirely nude, the owner of the
signet. Facing him stands another man, clad in a robe
wound spirally about his body from neck to foot, a costume
indicating high antiquity in this class of monuments ; overhead,
an ibex, inverted. Behind him are three rows of neatly cut
cuneiform Assyrian, read by Mr. Sayce as '* Arba Istar — son
of Ibn Beled — servant of the god Narani Sin." This last-
named prince is already known in inscriptions as contemporary
with Sargon the Assyrian, earlier than the sixteenth century
before our era. Cylinder of black haematite, one inch high ;
well engraved.
2. Deity, standing, with arms crossed, but without distinctive
attribute ; before him stands a worshipper with uplifted augural
staff; behind him two columns of well-cut cuneiform, read
by Mr. Sayce as '* Everbaga — servant of Nergal (Mercurj^')."
Cylinder of haematite, three-quarters of an inch high; neat work.
3. Man, bearded, standing with one hand uplifted in adora-
tion, in the other a short wand. He is clothed in a long plain
loose robe reaching to the ankle ; his costume being identical
with that of the seated figure in the famous cylinder of King
Urukh. Over his head are two small gryphons seated, facing
each other. The engraving of the figure has a precision and
finish unusual in its class; which, coupled with the extra-
ordinary size of the cylinder (which always increases with the
rank of the owner), indicates the signet of some exalt ad
personage. The other vertical half of the stone is filled with
eight columns of large cuneiform letters, well cut ; but some-
what blundered through the illiterateness of the lapidary who
engraved them. Mr. Sayce reads them as *' Sin [the Moon-
godj Benefactor of multitudes — Judge of the world ; perfect
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 369
Purifier of heaven and earth — Giver of the life of the gods —
The Law which suppHes the servant of thyself — my Prince-
Turan Agin — The son of Puri — The Reader." The legend,
therefore, is a prayer addressed by the owner of the signet,
Turan Agin, son of Puri, to his patron god, the *' Deus Lunus "
of later times. Cylinder of rock-crystal, three inches long.
4. Antelope, looking backwards, at what may be either a
great four-rayed star (symbol of Shamas the Sun-god) ; or else
the small figure of a man standing upon the beast's haunches ;
so rudely indefinite is the work. But the piece has a special
value as being the only example of the Assyrian conical seal
found amongst the donaria — a form of signet which became
common at Nineveh about the ninth century before Christ. It
is about one inch high, and three quarters diameter at the
base : of very clear white chalcedony. About a quarter of the
lower part is cased with gold, and the perforation for the
string is similarly lined. A unique example of such a decora-
tion in this kind of signet.
EGYPTIAN CLASS.
1. Cartouche of Thothmes III. (as Egyptologists are pleased
to call it), erected between a kneeling man, holding up a
sphere upon his hands, and the royal vulture with wings
outspread, both figures disposed like heraldic supporters to
the cartouche. Scarabaeus in white steaschist, set in a gold
collet, with a very massy shank in silver.
2. Beetle, inclosed in a border of four papyrus flowers, very
gracefully arranged. The beetle figures here as type of Ptha,
the Great Creator. Cut with extraordinary neatness, for
Egyptian work, in a scarabaeus of white steaschist. Silver
mounting.
3. Osiris, on his throne, the crook in one hand, the scourge
in the other, various symbols occupying the field. Large
scarabaeus of soft white stone. Silver mounting.
4. Seated deity, in conical cap: before him an altar. In front
stands a man with hands raised in adoration, overhead soars
the Mir or winged disk emblem of the presence of divinity.
Rude work, but probably Phoenician (from the introduction of
the Mir) imitation : small scarabaeus, carnelian.
5. Egyptian altar, placed between two erect asps, supporting
a vase, probably Canopic, in the shape of an elongated and
B B
370 APPENDIX.
inverted cone, with very long handles ; the exergue is filled with
the conventional representation of growing grass. Neatly cut
with the graver in a scarabaeus of soft stone, enamelled blue,
with ** artificial cyanus," * in the regular Eg\'ptian manner.
6. Bowl-shaped vase, set on a pedestal, on which are
perched three birds. Scarabaeus of soft stone, beautifully
enamelled with blue.
7. Antelope, lying down ; over its back various symbols.
Rudely cut in a scarabaeus enamelled blue.
8. Hawk, bearing the scourge on his shoulder : in front the
crux ansata, emblem of life ; below, a wide-spreading lotus
plant. Neat work, in a small scarabaeus of white stone.
Silver mounting.
9. Basket on stand, on which is seated Horus in the midst
of tall lotus flowers. Square tablet of vitrified clay. Silver
mo.unting.
10. Seated Deity : in front the crux ansata. The engraving
almost effaced. Scarabaeus of soft white stone, in a gold
collet with silver shank.
11. Two hawks, facing each other: one bears the scourge,
the other the crux ansata. A remarkable type, but much
defaced through the softness of the white stone scarabaeus
on w^hich it is cut. Gold collet, with silver shank.
12. Ibis, attitude of Thoth, with outspread wings, hovering
over an eye, symbol of Osiris. Small scarabaeus, enamelled
blue. Silver mounting.
13. Sphinx recumbent; in front, an altar. Small scarabaeus,
enamelled blue. Silver mounting.
14. Baboon-headed man, representing Thoth, standing
before the Orb ; behind, rises a tall pillar. Rudely cut in a
scarabaeus of soft white stone, in a gold mounting.
15. Asp erect, in front of a tall plume, symbol of the
goddess Neith. Small scarabaeus of white stone. Gold
setting.
16. Liliaceous plant springing up out of foliage (apparently
suggestive of a phallus); on each side, filling the field, is the
♦ Cyanus, " blue-stone," was the inferior sort of lazulite used for making
iiliramarine. Theophrastus says (55), ** The Egyptian cyanus is produced
by art, and the writers of the history of their monarchy record which of the
kings it was who made a fusible cyanus in imitation of the natural stono ;
they further mention that the mineral used to be sent as a present from other
countries."
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 371
crux ansata, emblem of fecundity, inclosed within a simple
" Etruscan border/' There can be little doubt this very
curious type was worn as a talisman for the cure of barren-
ness in woman. Of singularly well-finished work, in a small
scarabaeus of white stone. Silver mounting.
17. Hawk-headed sphinx, seated : on her head is placed the
orb ; in front various symbols. Deeply cut in a large scarabaeus
of white stone ; silver mounting.
18. Type entirely destroyed by a fracture of the surface,
with the exception of a crux ansata : in a large scarabaeus of
hard stone, in gold collet, with silver shank.
19. Man brandishing a sword ; barbarous work, in a small
scarabaeus of soft stone ; silver mounting.
20. Royal vulture, hovering over the Beetle ; both with
wings spread. Elegantly done in a small scarabaeus of white
stone ; silver mounting.
21. Hawk, with various symbols in the field. Small scarabaeus
of white stone ; gold mounting.
22. Sphinx couchant ; various symbols in the field. Rude
work, in a small scarabaeus of white stone ; gold collet with
silver shank.
23. Lotus flower, or vase, carelessly scratched on a small
scarabaeus of white stone ; gold setting.
Note. In the foregoing, as well as in the following lists, the
settings are not always noticed, although all the scarabaei are
provided wdth them. It is a curious fact that the merit of
the intaglio has nothing to do with the value of the setting ;
as the preceding list exemplifies, where the very poorest
scarabaei, as a rule, possess the most expensive gold swivel
rings.
Next, the Phoenician works are to be considered : for the
criteria serving to separate them from the Egyptian they so
closely imitate, the reader is referred to the preliminary
remarks. They form, indeed, the most interesting part, in
an archaeological point of view, of the whole collection, so
large a number, and so great a variety of monuments un-
mistakably Phoenician, having never before been brought at
once under the eye of the student of ancient glyptics. And
even for beauty of execution^ many of these intagli will stand
comparison with the best of the archaic Greek and Etruscan
schools.
B R 2
372 APPENDIX.
PHCENICIAN GEMS.
1. The Solar Hawk, crowned with the Egyptian helmet, as
worn by Osiris, carrying upon his shoulder the crook and the
scourge : in front the Royal Asp erect, in the field a semi-
circular and an oval dot ; marks of the signet of a royal lady.
Boldly engraved in a large scarabaeus of fine sard. This gem,
with its companion, has the most sumptuous setting of any
in the Treasure ; an immense gold swivel of Phoenician rather
than Egyptian fashion, being bent into a perfect ellipse, with
a broad loop soldered on to the centre of the outer circum-
ference, by which it was suspended. This handle is clamped
on, by means of foliated terminations, to the collet holding
the scarabaeus in a most ingenious and elegant manner, totally
differing in taste from the Egyptian mountings of signets.
Subject and setting make it apparent that this was a royal
seal. But what adds to its interest is the fact that it has a
fellow of exactly the same pattern and dimensions ; and that,
not a signet but a pendent jewel ; for its collet contains that
most unexampled paste of lazulite with bands of gold inserted,
already noticed when speaking of such manufacture. The care
bestowed upon its mounting is sure evidence that the Sidonian
trader had passed it off upon the Cypriote queen as a precious
stone of the highest value and rarity, a fraud of which other
examples are still extant ; the best known being those two
wonderfully beautiful pastes * in the Bale Cabinet, honoured
with the choicest performances in the way of rings ever
achieved by Etrurian goldsmiths.
2. Cynocephaliis, or Sacred Baboon, seated, with tablet in one
hand, stylus in the other, discharging his function of ** Scribe
to the gods." From the animal's noted fondness for pen and
ink, he was, according to Horapollo, given for attribute to
Thoth, the god of letters. In the field is a hieroglyph of two
vertical lines enclosing two dots | : | . A strictly Egyptian
type, but too well engraved for any but a Phoenician hand ; in
a scarabaeus of carnelian.
3. Hercules, clad in the lion's hide (by anticipation it would
seem), armed with a huge curved Egyptian club, encountering
a lion rampant, whom he has grasped by the fore paws,
* An aventurine with emerald ground, and a breccia agate of the liveliest
colours.
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 373
vainly struggling to back out of his reach. This subject is very
curious, for the Egyptian taste manifested in it : as in the
double plume on the head of Hercules, the diminutive crowned
asp, and persea-leaf in the field at his back. Overhead soars the
Mir, the visible presence of the Deity : a distinctive mark of
Phcenician origin in all works where it is found. Well drawn,
and carefully engraved, and of much interest as showing the
source whence such ideas were afterwards borrowed by the
Greeks, who applied them in a materialistic sense to their
historical Hercules, though all such types of combat in their
Asiatic originals bore mystic reference to the unceasing strife
of the Two Principles by which the work of Nature is carried
on. Small scarabaeus, camelian.
4. Hawk-headed deity, Phre, in Egyptian costume, kneeling
and upholding on his head a great sphere. The subject is
inclosed in a border of a single fine line. The remark made
upon No. 2 is yet more applicable to this intaglio, for notwith-
standing the nationality of the type, the wonderful perfection
of both drawing and execution proves it a masterpiece of the
Phcenician school of imitators. Scarabaeus, five-eighths of an
inch long ; in fine sard.
5. Two divinities of true Phoenician type, with wings
elevated, holding between them a wreath : they may be figures
of Victory. Behind the one is the regular symbol of the con-
junction of Baal-hammon with Ashtaroth, so invariably found
on the Phcenician and Carthaginian votive tablets, formed ^
by uniting the circle with the triangle or cone thus, V
as seen also on coins of Cossura.* Slightly engraved, ^—-^
and much defaced by wear, on the elliptical face of a small
solid finger-ring, of the simplest pattern, made of electrum,
perhaps native gold of Cyprus. That the island possessed
this amongst its other mineral treasures, may be inferred from
the name "Chrysocomi," still borne by a village near the site
of Aphrodisium. With Cypriote inscription.
6. Kneeling figure, with wings issuing from before the
shoulders as in Egj'ptian works, the one depressed, the other
elevated, and extending one hand in token of amity. This is a
type of special value in this series, from its identity with that
of the Phcenician coinage of Malta, where it forms the reverse
* So explained by Gesenius ; but others, with less reason, give it to the
Goddess Tanit.
374 APPENDIX.
to a head of Isis ; which places the origin of this gem out of
doubt. The drawing is good, but the engraving somewhat
sketchy. Scarabaeoid ; banded agate.
7. Two men kneeling, with hands raised in adoration.
Between them is set up a blank cartouche, above which rises
a double asp. Overhead soars the Mir, Presence of the
Deity ; behind each man is placed the crux ansata ; the
exergue is filled in with the conventional representation of
growing grass. Although the figures and general idea of
the group are borrowed from Egypt, yet the fact of the
cartouche's containing no hieroglyphic and therefore being
used as a meaningless ornament, the introduction of the Mir,
and the skilful execution of the intaglio itself, together with
the shape given to the gem — are incontestable evidences of its
Phcenician origin. Scarabaeoid ; brown chalcedony.
8. Warrior, in conical helmet, with large round shield with-
out an tmtbo, plunging his spear into the neck of a lion-
headed (?) man * bearing a round shield with a great umbo, w^ho
kneels before him, sinking his own spear, and asking quarter.
The marked difference of armament evidently denotes differ-
ence of nationality between the two combatants. The victor
may be supposed a Phoenician invader of the island, an ex-
planation borne out by the style and figure of the gem — a sard
scarabaeoid somewhat roughly engraved.
9. Two men wrestling, the body nude, but with quilted
drawers on the thighs, as in many Egyptian sculptures, and
also seen on certain Etruscan warriors under their armour.
Behind each champion stands, as second, a tall winged asp.
On the ground between them lies a small indefinite object,
perhaps the prize of victory. This type, if Phcenician, must
be taken in the same mystic sense as the rest ; but if, as is
very possible, an early Cypriote work, has no deeper meaning
than a record of the palaestra, so dear to all Greeks. A good
engraving, upon a scarabaeoid of a curious species of plasma,
transparent, with opaque clouds. This gem was found with-
out a setting.
10. Conical object (the famous idol of Paphos), covered with
network, like the Delphic Omphalos, surmounted by a sphere,
* A head covered with a Persian hood raay be all that is intended, so rude
is the work ; but if the monster is really to be seen here, the type, as before,
expresses the combat of the Two Principles.
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 375
whence spring two asps, and standing upon the hieroglyph for
'* gold." Across the apex of the cone spreads a horizontal
row of objects, apparently small asps. Overhead soars the
Mir. On each side stand, as heraldic supporters, a hawk-
headed deity, and a human figure. It will be observed that
the general outline of the central object reproduces the copu-
lated cone and circle, that regular Punic emblem of the con-
junction of Baal-hammon with Ashtaroth, already described
under No. 5 of this series. The nationality of the work is
proved by a gem (Stosch Cabinet, published by Gesenius
No. Ixx.), in all points identical (but on a larger scale, and
with the details better defined), which bears the name of
the owner, '* Ben-Had," in distinct Phoenician letters. Well
drawn, and clearly engraved on a scarabaeoid of calcedony.
11. The Barisy or Sacred Boat of the Nile, carrying the ter-
restrial globe, between two great asps. Over it stands the
solar disk; above all soars the Mir. The Baris floats above a
row of lotus flowers growing out of the river bank ; a beautiful
symbolising of the divine government of the world in its four
elements, and put upon the gem by a practised hand, in a
manner not unworthy of the idea. Scarabaeoid, agate.
12. The Baris again, carrying a hawk, perched upon poop
and prow. In the middle sits enthroned a deity, behind whom
stands an inferior god as attendant ; in front a third with hand
lifted in adoration. All three bear the orb on their heads,
to mark their divine nature. A simple ** Etruscan border"
encloses the group, which is done in a very sketchy style, and
may be equally Phoenician or Tyrrhene, for it closely resembles
some of the scarabaei from Tharros. Small scarabaeoid, of that
unfrequent material for intagli, rock-crystal.
13. Two sphinxes, seated, each with one forepaw raised
against the ** Hom," or Tree of Life, over which floats the
Mir. Gesenius* gives a very similar type, but with the
addition of two worshippers, of much importance to our
inquiry, for it bears in Phoenician letters the name '* Lo-
sargad," ** of the Prince of Victory," which decides the origin
of the present work. Slightly engraved upon a pure green
plasma, the only one of the kind (except a miniature un-
engraved scarabaeus) in the whole Treasure. This, too, is the
scarabseus complete, of larger size than the generality.
* PhcjL'iiician Monuments, No. Ixx. U'?\
376 APPENDIX.
14. Sphinx facing a lion, both recumbent ; between them is
set up a tall cross, an emblem perpetually recurring in the
class, but probably (notwithstanding all that has been said on
the subject) of no deeper meaning than the conventional figure
of a star, ** the star of your god Remphan," elevated on a
pole. The emblem of Shamas, in the royal necklace, is a
regular Maltese cross. This subject frequently occurs on the
graffiti gold rings, and is a truly Phoenician device. Care-
lessly engraved, on a small scarabaeoid ; calcedony.
15. Hawk-headed gryphon, seated, with wings half open ;
upon his head the solar disk, in front the crux ansata. Rudely
and deeply cut, in a small scarabaeoid of sard.
16. Stag browsing upon a tree ; over his back are two letters,
perhaps Cypriote, but lost through a flaw in the surface.
Sketchy work upon a small scarabaeoid of either bad lazulite,
or a paste imitating that stone ; the ** artificial Cyanus " of
Theophrastus.
17. Hawk-headed gryphon, wearing the conical helmet of
Osiris, seated upon the hieroglyph for gold; in front rises a tall
lotus stem. Engraved with great fineness of touch, in a fully-
formed scarabaeus of fine sard.
18. Gryphon, recumbent, crowned with the horned cap of
Belus. In front, a great star, representing the Sun, of whom
the gr>'phon is the special attribute. Most delicately engraved
upon a small scarabaeoid of sard, completely blanched by
fire.
19. Hawk-headed gryphon, seated, looking backwards; in
front, placed vertically, is a club. As this is the well-known
mint mark that distinguishes the coins of Tyre, it probably has
the same meaning in this prettily executed intaglio. Small
scarabaeus of sard, in a heavy swivel-ring of silver.
20. Gryphon, walking with wings expanded ; in front a large
star. Very sketchy work, on a scarabaeoid of fine eye-onyx.
21. Two lions, engaged in deadly combat, each having his
jaws fixed in the lower part of his antagonist's belly. By
this symmetrical arrangement, the group presents the same
appearance, viewed from whatever side. The manes are ex-
pressed by cross hatchings, in a very perfunctory manner, but
the rest of the figure is drawn with much fidelity to nature,
and carefully finished. The design is contained within a
simple Etruscan border. Complete scarabaeus, seven-eighths
of an inch long, of brown calcedony.
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 377
22. Animal of uncertain species, perhaps an antelope, placed
symmetrically in the midst of three large leaves of the same
kind as those commonly seen on Phoenician votive tablets.
They may be leaves of the Persea plum, which from their re-
semblance to the tongue, were held sacred by the Egyptians.*
Rudely incised on a scarabaeoid of soft dark stone, perhaps
serpentine, but extremely curious from its back being carved
into a full-faced mask, probably meant for an amulet, though
not the regular Gorgoneion. It may be Baal himself, whose
full face makes the reverse of some coins of Juba II.
23. Two wild goats erect, turned back to back, but falling
towards each other, (heraldically speaking, "addossed and
regardant **). Between them, set upright, is a large lanceolated
leaf, doubtless of the same mystic significance as in the last
described subject, the same leaf being repeated at each side.
Type and manner of engraving, unmistakably Phoenician ; in
a large scarabaeoid of brown calcedony.
24. Asp, erect before a three-branched plant ; such as
figures later on many Serapis gems. Neatly cut on a very
small scarabaeus of sard.
25. Asp, winged, the one wing raised, the other lowered,
facing a tall cross, of the nature already explained. Below
them, a four-rayed star, symbol of Shamas, the Sun-god ; a
curious union of Assyrian and Egyptian forms, quite in the
spirit of the syncretistic religion of Phoenicia. Beautifully
engraved on a small scarabaeus of green jasper, the only
specimen of that stone met with amongst the donaria.
26. Two men, with right hands lifted in adjuration : between
them rises a plant, overhead soars the Mir ; showing the
subject to have a religious significance, perhaps the making
of a solemn covenant. Rudely done in flat relief upon the
square face of a finger-ring in solid silver, apparently of
Cypriote manufacture.
GREEK INTAGLI.
The subjects rather than the art, have been taken for guide
in classifying gems under this heading; although our know-
ledge of the stages observed in the natural growth of every
art, makes it tolerably certain that some of the works in the
♦ It symbolises a deity : the Hindoo women still worship Shasta-devi
(Astarte), under the form of a banian fig-leaf.
378 APPENDIX.
foregoing series are, really, Greek imitations of Phoenician
models — the first essays of artists as yet too timid to trust
themselves amongst the graceful creations of their own
mythology.
I. Man, with mighty wings outspread, flying through the
air, with a naked girl clasped in his arms, who still retains
hold of a lyre in the hand which hangs down. The ravisher
looks backwards, as if defying all pursuit ; and with all the
conscientiousness of early art, is made to strike out with his
legs in the air, as though swimming in a more substantial
element. The subject can be no other than Boreas carrjang
off Orithyia, daughter of Erechtheus, from the banks of the
llissus; the lyre, so conspicuously introduced to tell the
subject, evidently alludes to the fact that she was *' disporting
herself" {-naCCovaa, Plato has it in the Phaedrus, 229, C.) at
what time the Wind-god swooped down upon her. This story
has not hitherto been found on a gem,* although its violent
action had so much to recommend it to the archaic taste ;
but it may be mentioned that the celebrated intaglio of
Achilles holding up the slain Penthesilea offers a somewhat
analogous composition. This work equals anything known
in the style, for the bold drawing and skilful treatment of
the nude forms — qualities which, with its wonderfully minute
finish, and unique subject, make the gem perhaps, the most
precious example of Greek art, just emerging from the archaic
stage, hitherto brought to light. A sculptor of the highest
eminence has praised the correctness of the drawing, and
pointed out that the apparent distortion of one of Boreas'
feet was necessitated by the confinement of the field — a law to
which the early engravers are seen, in many of their works,
to have felt themselves bound to conform. Scarabaeoid, five-
eighths of an inch long, in a sard of quality worthy of the work
it bears ; and set in a gold swivel-ring of considerable weight.
2. Man, bearded, with long hair bound with a fillet in the
primitive style, grasping by the waist and caressing a girl, who
appears to struggle to disengage herself, and drops a tall
flambeau she is carrj'ing. He is clothed in a long robe
reaching to the ankle, with chlamys hanging over his arm ; she
♦ It had a place on the Coffer of Cypselus, a work older by two centuries
at least, but all that Pausanias notices of its treatment is that Boreas ** has
tails of serpents instead of feet." (V. 19, i.)
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 379
wears a long tunic and short upper garment, and has her hair
bound up in the mitra, the national head-dress of the Greek
islands, as seen upon the conventional portraits of Sappho.
The flambeau in her hand is introduced (by anticipation) to
place out of doubt that the scene is the ** Rape of Proserpine,"
and the victim the future Queen of Night. Of this subject, no
other example is now extant on a gem, although the story of
Sporus' ill omened New Year's gift to Nero, proves it had
been taken by other eminent practitioners of the art. An early
vase-painting, however, represents the same legend ; and here
also the god (in opposition to the general rule for the repre-
sentation of deities) wears the same long robe, emblematic of
a dark and mysterious Power, and which probably distinguished
his character when brought upon the Attic stage : Euripides
styles Death, appearing in a visible form in the Alcestis, /mcAajot-
7r€7r\os — the peplos being the most ample of all female garments.
This intaglio, for excellence of composition and forcible expres-
sion of its meaning, with a truthfulness almost indelicate
according to modern ideas, aided by the miraculous finish of
all its details (for even the little jewel on the maiden's mitra
is clearly shown) may safely be placed at the head of all that
is known in the archaic style. In the latter points it equals
the far-famed ** Five Heroes in Council" of the Stosch
Cabinet ; whilst in design it is far superior, being entirely
emancipated from the grotesque stiffness of that Etruscan
masterpiece. In fact this engraving as strikingly exemplifies
the proficiency of the early Greeks in treating draped figures,
as the ** Boreas and Orithyia" does for the nude. The subject
was probably chosen for signet-device by the lady who first
owned it, from its reference to some scene in the Mysteries of
Demeter (the old Athenians, says Plutarch, called the dead
*' Demetrians" ); that it was meant as a warning of the shortness
of life, like the Foot of Hermes crushing the Psyche butter-
fly of Roman gems, is too transcendental an idea for those
times of primitive simplicity. The artist has fortunately
allowed himself a larger field than is usual in archaic glyptics
for the exhibition of his skill, a scarabaeoid three quarters of an
inch long, of calcedony. This gem is mounted in a very massy
swivel-ring of silver : curiously attesting the poverty of the
Hellenes at this period of their history as much as it does their
advance in art, and strongly contrasting with the costly decora-
tions of the barbarous Egyptian signets that keep it company.
380 APPENDIX.
3. Goddess with wings recurved in the archaic manner,
standing, with right hand raised and forefinger extended as if
beckoning, or, it may be, holding a flower (?) ; the other hand,
pressed close to her side, grasps a torque ; over the extended
arm falls in ample folds a large peplos of the finest stuff. Her
wings, as in Phoenician figures, spring from the front of the
shoulders, not from the top as in later art, a singular instance
of attention to the possibility of such adjuncts to the human
frame. In the field is an erect serpent. This attribute, insepa-
rable from the Attic Athene, would at the first view lead us to
suppose that goddess to be meant, were it not for the absence
of the helmet, indispensable to that conception. She may be
the primitive embodiment of the idea of Nemesis, and the
serpent added as the emblem of Wisdom. But this enigmatical
representation is evidently akin to the type of a rare coin of
Marium in the same island, a winged female of precisely the
same period of art, shown in front face in violent movement,
bearing in one hand a wreath, in the other a partly effaced
object. Nemesis, in her later representations, carries a mea-
suring-rod, or else holds up her right arm to exhibit the
** cubitus " in the same sense ; inculcating the maxim, fi^rpbv
aptarov. Regularly, she is winged, the "wingless*' Nemesis
being peculiar to Smyrna. She actually appears preceded by
a serpent upon an aureus of Julius Caesar, and upon a denarius
of Claudius. Her worship at Rhamnus is a proof of her being
amongst the primitive Ionian deities; in fact, she was from
first to last only a particular aspect of the goddess Fortune.
The execution of this intaglio is of the finest, but the design has
something of the Phoenician stiffness about it, so that the work
may safely be attributed to the Cypriote school. Scarabseoid
of fine sard, mounted in a gold swivel-ring of dimensions suit-
able for wearing on the finger.
4. Victory, with great drooping wings, standing in front face
but looking to the left (in the impression) and holding forth
the laurel wreath. She is clothed in a long pleated tunic,
over which is put a short plain upper garment. The figure of
the goddess and the manner in which it is draped much
resemble the same type upon the staters of Alexander,
although its style had by that time become more loose.
Nothing can surpass the beauty of the drawing, or the
exquisite finish of this example of the ** Perfect Greek " style.
Small scarabaeoid of sard, mounted in a gold collet attached by
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 381
a loop to a gold hoop ring, from which it dangles in the wear :
a unique example of this method of carrying the signet.
5. Youth, nude figure, standing between two prancing horses,
whom he grasps by the shoulders. If found in later ait, this
group would stand for ** Hercules taming the man-eating
steeds of Diomedes the Thracian," but in the present case it
is more probable that the sense is Assyrian and mystic (such
bemg the real source of the afterwards imagined ** Labour*'
of the demi-god) for the work is as yet archaic, as is very
apparent in the human figure, although the horses are drav n
with equal accuracy and spirit. Small scarabaeoid of brownish
opaque stone, partly calcined.
6. Youth, quite nude, bending forward over a large, long-
tailed hound, which raises itself to lick his hand ; he carries a
short wand tipped with a ball. Such a group, in later art,
would be interpreted as ** Ulysses recognised by the faithful
Argus ; " but at this early stage of Greek culture it is much
more likely that nothing deeper is meant than a " Picture of
Boy and Dog." A border of a single fine line incloses the
group. The highest point to which the older school ever
attained is reached in this intaglio, which rivals the cele-
brated ** Tydeus with the strigil " (Berlin) in its accurate
anatomy, and careful finish of details. Scarabaeoid, five-
eighths of an inch long, very neatly shaped and polished out
of a plasma of the curious species above described, transparent
with opaque clouds. This gem has no setting, being, per-
haps, intended to be carried on a string about the wrist,
after the most ancient mode of wearing the signet.
7. Youth, nude figure, his long hair tied with a fillet in the
archaic style, kneeling with one hand laid on his breast, in
token of submission, and holding forth in the other, as an
offering, a rectangular object, perhaps a piece of honeycomb,
although the cells are not indicated. The intaglio, though
well done in some parts, is evidently unfinished, both the feet
being wanting to the figure, and the legs merely sketched out.
Large scarabaeoid, of the curious species of plasma already
described in two other specimens, and which, no doubt, passed
at the time for an inferior smaragdus. Pliny * mentions that
a marble lion, set upon the tomb of Hermias, a Cypriote king,
had the eyes made of '* smaragdus Cyprius ; " and Theo-
♦ Hist, Nat. xxxvii. 17.
382 APPENDIX.
phrastus speaks of the gem being commonly found in the
copper-mines of the island.
8. Girl, nude, kneeling, and offering a vase with spherical
belly, and elongated neck and foot. She carries a long wand,
of which the curved end shows over her shoulder. Sketchv
work, of later date than any of the preceding; on a small
round scarabaeoid of chalcedony.
9. Warrior, nude, in a close-fitting helmet, KaratVvf, seizing
by the hair a woman, who crouches before him, and grasps his
arm as if imploring mercy from the ravisher, whose purpose is
declared by the cord in his other hand. Engraved in a free
style, with little attempt at finish, much in the manner of the
later Etruscan work. Sard, apparently cut down from a larger
gem, as part of the subject now goes out of the field. The
only example in the Treasure of a gem set in a regular finger-
ring, not a swivel. It is of very elegant make ; the collet has
a ** wave pattern " in filigree, running round it, and the shank
is of complex and pretty design. What more fitting signet for
a Tyrrhene sea-rover ?
10. Three warriors, marching in line, armed with spears
and round shields with unusually large umbos, their equipment
being precisely that of the royal guards, as represented on the
Amathus tomb. Herodotus remarks of the Cyprian contingent
in the army of Xerxes, that they were armed after the Greek
manner, but wore tunics, and their kings wrapped up their
heads in mitra (like females).* A most interesting work from
the certainty of its origin, although very rudely executed,
being cut with the graver in a scarabaeus of dark brown
steaschist.
11. Man, propped on a staff, feeling his uplifted foot (?) ;
within a regular Etruscan border. The bold, coarse work
of the intaglio, like that of No. 9 in this series, resembles
Etruscan, and the gem may easily have found its way to
Curium in the stock of some trader of that adventurous
people. Small scarabaeus, of fine sard.
12. Woman, nude, seen, from behind, rinsing out her long
hair in a great basin set on a pedestal, like the labrum of the
Roman baths. The attitude, that of the well-known ** Peleus
purifying Himself." It is doubtful if this scene represents a
simple operation of the toilette, or has the deeper meaning of
♦ Hist. vii. 9a
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 383
a rite for averting the ill luck threatened by dreams. Propertius
has of the love-sick Tarpeia —
" Saepe ilia immeritae causata-est omina Lunse,
Et sibi tingendas dixit in amne comas."
The figure is within an Etruscan border, and is done with
great spirit, considering the microscopic size of the gem, a
scarabaeoid no more than a quarter of an inch long ; of sard
blanched by fire.
13. Woman, entirely nude, crouching down, in the attitude
of '* Venus at the Bath ; " her hair falls freely down her
shoulders, whilst she passes the long tresses through her fingers
to disentangle them. Everj'thing about this remarkable type
evinces that we see here no mythical nymph or goddess, but
the fair owner herself, who advertises her venal charms by her
signet. Perfect Greek work, of the latest period of any in the
Treasure ; its beauty passes all description, and gives an
idea of the Amymone of the same school, fully justifying the
extravagant laudation, already cited, of the amateur Ismenias.
Scarabaeoid of fine sard, five-eighths of an inch long.
14. Horse, with forelegs bent, in the act of lying down ; in
the field above, in large rough lettering, 2TH5:iKPATH2
(reversed on the gem), the whole in a border of a single fine line,
w^hich adjunct is a normal distinction of true Greek work, as
contrasted with the always double, often elaborate, borders
used by Etruscan artists. As gem legends are always in
the genitive, this signet must have belonged to a lady,
'* Stesicrate." The engraving retains but little of archaic
stiffness, and its date is certainly of the latest amongst the
donaria. The legend is written in the Ionic character, which
necessarily was used on the Asiatic coast and adjacent islands
long before it was adopted at Athens (a fact sufficiently proving
its general use elsewhere), and which was done, says Plutarch,
as early as B.C. 420. Horses in constrained attitudes were a
favourite study with Greek artists of all kinds. Plutarch tells
a story of the early painter, Pauson, that being commissioned
to paint a horse rolling on its back, he produced one galloping
to his indignant patron, who, however, was more than satisfied
when Pauson showed that by inverting the picture the wished-
for attitude was attainable. Scarabaeoid, nearly one inch long,
of light brown calcedony ; mounted, as are most of the Greek
gems here, in a very massy swivel-ring of silver.
384 APPENDIX.
15. Great wolf-dog, sleeping, tied by a short cord to the
stump of a tree. Done in the '* Perfect " Greek style, with
incomparable fidelity to nature, and wonderful finish of
details. The dog, as represented in Greek art, is always of
one breed, with long tail and ears, smooth-haired, with large
head, generally resembling our " pointer," which in fact is
still the commonest kind seen in Central Italy. Scarabaeoid,
five-eighths of an inch long, in a singular material like a black
paste, but probably trachyte or " touchstone " (a coarse-grained
black jasper), for the intaglio is evidently executed by the
same technique as those in the other "hard stones" of the
collection.
16. Raven, perched on rocks ; over its back the crux ansata,
in front the branch of a tree, perhaps Apollo's bay, as the
bird was his special attribute. It may possibly be connected
with the worship of Apollo Relates, ** Apollo of the Forest,"
whose temple, so famous in after times, stood at a short
distance from Curium. Bordered with a single fine line, sure
proof of its Greek origin, notwithstanding the truly Egj'ptian
symbol in the field, as likewise may be deduced from its
workmanship, naturalistic, though rather sketchy. Small
scarabaeus, sard.
17. Ibis, standing with raised beak, in the act of sw^allowing.
Although the symbol of Thoth, and doubtless bearing here a
mystic sense, the bird is in a good Greek style. It is most
remarkable for the form of the gem it occupies, a four-sided
piece of clear sardonyx, i x | inch long and wide, with the other
three sides blank, perforated through its length, and set in a
gold swivel ring ; evidently considered a very precious stone.
18. Hippocampus, winged, and in rapid motion, traversing
the waves. Although this graceful monster is the special
creation of Phoenician fancy, having no prototype in either
Assyrian or Egj'ptian imagerj', and is the regular mark, fittest
badge of a seafaring people, of all coins owning the influence
of Tyre or Carthage — yet its free drawing and exquisite finish
oblige us to assign this gem to a Cypriote hand. Minute
scarabaeus, of fine sard.
19. Cartouche, placed vertically between two erect asps, on
which is inscribed in large letters E\1Z. This word can be no
other than ex*^» ^^^ ^'^ form of Ixthva, and may, possibly, be a
proper name, after the analog}' of Draco, not uncommon in
Greece ; and Echidna, whose amour with Hercules Herodotus
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 385
relates. Or if taken in its primary sense, the word may consti-
tute an amulet against the asps, still so plentiful in Cyprus,
to be of the nature of those prophylactic rings against snake-
bites alluded to by Aristophanes.* Arab amulets at the present
day bear the figure of the thing against which they exert their
virtue, and all oriental practices in this line come down from
immemorial antiquity. Elegantly engraved, on a scarabaeoid
of banded agate.
It is very interesting to compare the foregoing list with that
drawn up, some seventy years later than the siege of Curium,
of the dedicated offerings of the same nature in the most
important temple of Greece. One of Boeckh's Inscriptions,
dating from the Peloponnesian War (b.c. 430-404), enume-
rates in the Treasury of the Parthenon : "a large onyx,
engraved with an antelope, weighing 32 drachms ; an onyx, not
engraved, 270 drachms and half an obol ; an onyx t set in a
gold ring ; an onyx t set in a silver ring ; a jaspis [plasma] t in
a gold ring; 2l jaspis signet encased in gold [probably a scarabaeus
mounted as a pendant] ; a signet in a gold ring [i.e. not cut on
a gem, but in the gold itself] ; a signet in a gold ring, dedicated
by Dexilla; a gold ring [not a signet, but ornamental] weighing
1 4 drachm, offered by Axiothea, wife of Socles; two gem-signets
in one gold ring ; two signets in silver rings [id cised in them] ,
one of them plated with gold ; seven signets of coloured glass
[paste gems] pleated with gold ; eight silver rings, and one
gold coin without alloy [probably a daric, thus distinguished
from the debased Cyzicene stater, the only Greek gold
currency of the period] ; a gold ring, with one gold coin tied
to it [probably fastened to the ring by a loop, to serve for
ornamental jewel, in the manner of the Victory scarabaeoid in
our list] , offered by Phryniscus the Thessalian ; a plain gold
ring of half a drachm, offered by Pletho of iEgina [clearly a
' widow's mite '] ; five earrings in tin, offered by Thaumarete."
In reading this catalogue, we cannot fail to be struck with
the similarity in nature of the offerings treasured up in two
shrines so wide apart. In both, the same absence of the true
precious stones is conspicuous ; even the onyx is estimated by
weight, as are diamonds and rubies now-a-days ; the plasma
is yet more rare : both kinds are worn unengraved ; coloured
♦ Plutus, 883.
t These three gems were not engraved, but worn as precious stones ; when
engraved, the description, atppayU, is carefully added.
C c
386 APPENDIX.
pastes are accounted worthy ofFerings to the national deity ;
we find in both, the plating of silver with gold to augment show
and diminish cost ; and the same distinction between rings
engraved for signets and those designed for merely ornamental
wear. But the unnamed goddess of Curium could boast of
great superiority over her sister of Athens, both in the quantity
and intrinsic value of the offerings at her shrine, unless indeed
Boeckh's Inscription only comprises a limited time.
In addition to the Temple Treasure, the same locality has
furnished a very interesting gem. It is a sard, bearing in
front-face a head with very bushy hair, arranged in two great
clusters at the sides, and with long beard, the whole disposi-
tion giving it the appearance (though not intended) of a bunch
of grapes. But on comparing the figure with the heads in
profile, or in full-face, on the coins of the two Jubas of
Numidia, representing the national god Balsamus or Baal-
samen, " lord of the heavens," there can be little doubt as to
their all expressing the same idea. As the Numidians* must
necessarily have derived what little art they had from their
Carthaginian neighbours, the appearance of the Punic deity on
a gem of Cypriote workmanship is easily accounted for. Its
style belongs to too early a period for the head to be supposed
the portrait of any mortal personage, though it has, naturally
enough, been pronounced a contemporary likeness of Zeno
himself. A legend in Cypriote cuneiform surrounds it, which
has not hitherto been interpreted, but certainly follows the rule
with Phcenician legends in such connection, and expresses the
name of the man who seals. This gem was picked up many
years back, and the finder, struck with the beauty of the sard,
caused his own name to be cut in Arabic on the reverse, and
set it, with the original intaglio downwards, in his signet ring.
A large amethyst, of remarkable colour and brilliancy, is set in
an elaborately decorated and heavy gold ring, of somewhat
barbarous workmanship, and of much later date than any above
described. The collet is rudely overlaid with filigree patterns,
and the shoulders of the shank are carved into caryatid figures,
of what meaning it is difficult to discover — a fashion that only
came in under the Roman empire. There are also some
examples of slight gold rings, with that frequent formula EII
ArA012 engraved on the face. Its sense, " for good luck,"*
* Not " For the good child," as an eminent dactyliologist of our times has
thought proper to translate it.
TREASURE OF CURIUM. 387
proves the destination of the jewels, as being either espousal
rings, birthday presents, or New Year's gifts. These came
from the adjacent cemetery.
It would be truly ungrateful to conclude my notice of this,
by far the most important portion of the Treasure of Curium,
without invoking a blessing upon the memory of its ancient
guardian, who, when he could see no hope of escape from the
barbarian iconoclasts then pressing the siege, so ingeniously
concealed from their search his sacred trust, for the instruction
and enjoyment of an age separated by four and twenty centuries
from his own.
Trin. Coll. Cam.,
Nov, 20, 1876.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES OF GEMS.
N. B. All the works in the Assyrian style are drawn to the
actual size ; but those in the Egyptian, Phoenician and Greek,
to double. The numerals refer to the description of the gems,
under their respective headings, in the Treasure of Curium ;
the Utters annexed in some few cases, indicate those acci-
dentally omitted, and left to be noticed in the following list.
Plates XXXI — XXXIII. Nos. i, 2, 3, have been fully des-
cribed in the text : of the others a detailed account would be a
tedious series of repetitions. The same general idea pervades
them all ; rude figures of deities, their sacred animals, the Hom
Tree, and the worshipper. Barbarous as they are in execution,
they are yet of the greatest interest to the student of the art,
for it is evident that the majority are of local manufacture,
and convincingly declare from what source the Cypriote
engravers, afterwards so celebrated, derived the rudiments of
their knowledge. The material is generally green serpentine,
an easily worked stone, but susceptible of a fine polish, and
the designs were incised, as is apparent upon examination,
simply by the means of a splinter of obsidian, the use of which
for such purposes is noticed by Herodotus (VII. 69).
388 APPENDIX.
Plate XXXIV. Gold rings, and engraved ornanunts.
Nos, I, 2, 3, 4, are described under " Gold rings."
5. Andro-sphinx, in the Phoenician style.
6. Egyptian figure, kneeling, bearing up a large blank car-
touche. This unmeaning ornament, equivalent to a blank shield
in heraldry, proves this type to be merely imitative Phoenician.
Delicately incised upon the surface of a fibula. Drawn to the
actual size.
7. Rectangular space, divided into eight compartments, of
which the upper row contains two seated, and two standing
figures ; in those below, the figure of the sun, and indistinct
symbols can be traced. Rudely incised and indented, apparently
in imitation of the Assyrian style. Drawn to the actual size.
Plate XXXV. a. Warrior, going to battle in his car, at the
side is slung a great quiver of arrows. A very interesting type,
for though the manner of the engraving is altogether Egyptian,
yet it may represent the war-chariots in which Herodotus tells
us lay the strength of the Salaminians.
Plate XXXVI. a. Two men, in regular Assyrian costume,
standing on either side and grasping each a branch of the Tree
of Life. An exquisite specimen of Phoenician lapidary art ; for
the authorship is placed out of doubt by the exact agreement of
the group with one of those upon the Amathus patera (p. 279),
placed directly below the picture of the beleaguered city.
Plate XXXVIII..23. The Leaf, to which attention has been
called in the text, will be found repeatedly introduced in the
decoration of the Curium patera (p. 329). A similar object
often appears in the Mithraic tablets of much later date ; where
it is explained as a cypress-tree, emblem of the element, Fire.
Whatever its significance, the sanctity of the idea conveyed is
evinced by its forming the sole device borne by so many signet
rings, to be noticed in the continuation —
a. Two men, with elevated hands, facing each other. The
two pellets in the exergue, standing for stars, emblems of
divinity, render it probable that these figures are the Cabiri.
Very roughly engraved.
6. Crane walking ; in the field above, a lizard : in front, a
plant. Barbarous execution.
c. Gryphon, with wings spread : in front, the crux ansata.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES OF GEMS. 389
d. Bull, standing under a tree ; in front a large disk repre-
senting the sun : the bull being the attribute of Belus.
Plate XL, 11. After long consideration of this singular type,
I come to the conclusion that the artist had in his mind Phi-
loctetes just stung by the serpent, and clapping his hand, by a
natural gesture, to the bitten part. He supports himself upon
the "mighty bow" of his late master, Hercules (which accounts
for its length, so far superior to that of the ordinary Grecian
bow), the hiding-place whereof he had betrayed to the Greeks,
in spite of his oath to the dying hero, and therefore received
his due reward from the heaven-sent asp. The subject, from
the moral it conveys, was a favourite one with the Greco-
Italians of this very period, although in other examples the
sense is generally better defined by the addition of the actual
serpent, and the overturned altars under which the weapons
had been buried. Or, if a naturalistic sense seem more in
character with the style of art; we may see here only a
shepherd extracting a thorn from his foot ; an equally popular
subject with both sculptors and gem-engravers.
Plate XLI. Gews, and incised gold signets, from various
localities. Those with numbers annexed are described in Gen.
di Cesnola's additional list.
a. The Head of Baal, found at Curium, noticed at length,
in page 386. It may be remarked here, that the characters
of the legend bear more resemblance to the Numidian Punic,
than to the Cypriote cuneiform. Semitic scholars, acting up-
on this hint, may perhaps succeed in solving the, as yet,
puzzling enigma.
b. Minerva, grounding arms ; the tall cross behind her, may
be intended for a trophy. Slight work of the Roman epoch.
c. Nemesis, winged and helmeted, resting her hand upon a
yokcy with the same signification as the bridle^ so often seen in
her hand. Slight work of the same date.
LIST OF ENGRAVED GEMS
FOUND AT DIFFERENT PLACES IN CYPRUS.
1. Silver ring with engraved carnelian representing a
warrior : found in a tomb at Tremitissa, the ancient Tremi-
thus. (Mars, leaning on his spear, and grounding his shield,
TiOifin'09 TO oirAa. Rude work ; late Greek).
2. Gold ring, set with a carnelian ; found in a tomb with
glass vases at Aphrodisium. (Bacchus leaning against a cippus,
caressing his panther. Fine Greek work ; figured PI. xli. 2.)
3. Sard, not mounted, from a tomb at Golgos. (Female
head, with the hair done up in a small chignon : apparently a
paste from a fine Greek intaglio.)
4. Carnelian, not set, from a tomb at Throni. (Esculapius
and Hygeia : bold work of the Roman period. PI. xli. 4.)
5. Fine gold ring, set with an engraved carbuncle ; from a
tomb at Golgos. (Goddess, standing, with cornucopia :
barbarous style.)
6. Gold ring, with engraved sard ; found with glass vases in
a tomb at Idalium. (Nemesis, in the later Greek style.
Figured at page 392.)
7. Gold ring, with carnelian ; from Idalium. (Standing
figure ; merely scratched in.)
8. Rock-crystal, not set, from Amathus. (Raven, standing
before a bay-tree; behind is placed a spray of some other
tree. Bold, good Greek work.)
9. Bronze ring, with carnelian ; from Amathus. (Female
centaur, advancing, with hand extended, carrj'ing a branch of
a tree on the shoulder. Sketchy, late Greek.)
10. Gold, massive, ring, incised with the ** Ground plan of
the Temple of Paphos ; '* as antiquaries designate this curious
object ; perhaps, a sacerdotal vestment. PL xli. 20.
11. Gold, massive, ring, set with a green iridescent paste.
(Tall amphora, of elegant form ; moulded from a fine Greek
intaglio.)
ENGRAVED GEMS AND RINGS. 39I
12. Gold ring, set with a carnelian. (Cupid, condemned to
hard labour, leaning on his mattock. Pretty work, in a late
Greek style.)
13. Carnelian of unusual appearance ; perhaps carbuncle.
(Venus, leaning on a cippus, holding forth an alabastron. Bold,
unfinished, Greek work.)
14. Gold ring, set with carnelian. (Goddess standing; of
the usual barbarous work characterising these mortuary rings.)
15. Gold ring, set with a carnelian. (Apollo, leaning on a
cippus, holding out his bow. Sketchy, late Greek.)
16. Gold, massive, ring ; set with a cameo of a nude female
figure, probably Venus, in paste. The relief is in white
upon a blue ground, as in the Portland vase, and is finely
executed. (Apparently a Venus Victrix, from an original, in a
very grand style.)
17. Gold ring, with carnelian. (Fortune standing, with
cornucopia, and rudder : late Greek.)
18. Gold, massive, ring, with incised device. ( " Ground
plan of Temple of Paphos," as in No 10, but very sketchy.)
19. Gold ring with sard. (Fortune, with her usual attri-
butes : good style.)
20. Gold, massive, ring, with incised device. (A dove flying
(?) in very rude outline. PI. xli. 10.)
21. Carnelian, not mounted. (Goddess standing: in the
usual sketchy style.)
22. Double gold ring, with the sacred Leaf (or tree) incised
upon each beasel. Plate xli. 22.
23. Massive gold ring, with Egyptian device, the orb sup-
ported by the double asp, in relief; of very bold and early
workmanship.
24. Bronze ring, with carnelian. (A Scorpion — an amulet
against its bite.)
25. Gold ring, set with carnelian. (Comic Mask, in profile :
very slight work.)
26. Double gold ring, incised on each beasel with the sacred
Leaf (or tree) as before, but larger, and in a much ruder manner.
27. Gold ring, set with a garnet. (Female figure, standing,
with right hand raised in adoration, a wand in the other;
sketchy rude work, but better than usual in this material.)
28. Silver ring, set with an onyx. (Dog chasing a fawn :
the device on the brooch of Ulysses. Neat, late Greek
work.)
392 APPENDIX.
29. Camelian scarabeoid, not mounted. (Hercules the
Archer ; PI. xH. 29. Fine, early Greek work, of high merit.
The action of the figure is very remarkable ; the arrow being
represented as released from the hand, and just quitting the
bowstring, which can only be accounted for by the supposition
that we have here a copy from a bronze statue, doubtless of
great celebrity at the time.)
30. Gold ring, with incised device ; " Temple of Paphos,"
as before.
31. Gold ring, incised with the good wish, Efl ArA6(i): of
which there are six or seven examples in the collection.
(Shown by the form of the letters to belong to the Roman
period.)
32. Gold, massive, ring, with incised device (entirely oblite-
rated, seemingly by design).
33. Gold, massive, ring, with incised device. (The two
sacred Leaves, as before).
34. A seal-ring, gold mounting, in blue glass : the back is
represented by a -lion in high relief, couchant. (Cartouche,
containing hieroglyphics, illegible.)
35. Bronze ring, set with an onyx. (Cupid bestriding a
dolphin; minute intaglio of the Roman period.)
1, uid., Idalium.
CURIUM TREASURE -ASSYRIAN STYLE.
CURIUM TREASURE.-ASSVRIAN STVl
CURIUM TREASURE.- ■ INCISED IN THt GULU.
PLATE XKXV.
CURIUM TKE.
PLATE XXXVII.
PLATE XXXVII
CURIUM TREASURE -PHtKNICIAS KIVI.E.
i
:lkii;m thkasube.— grkek f
Ct'KIUM TRKASURE-CKttK ST\ Lt".
ii
GEMS KROM VARIOUS LOfALlTIKS IN CYPRUS.
ON THE POTTERY OF CYPRUS.
By a. S. MURRAY.
Among the many vases discovered by General Cesnola in
Cyprus which present entirely new features in the history of
ancient pottery, there is, perhaps, no class so striking as that
represented by the three vases given here (figs, i, 2, 3), and a
fourth on p. 55. To begin with the last mentioned, where
the design is that of two goats standing confronted, with a
decorated pattern between them. This pattern, of which
another variety will be seen in fig. 3, is the same, whatever it
may signify, as occurs on the patera from Curium (p. 329),
where it is also employed to separate groups of confronted
figures, and thus performs the same function as the sacred
tree on Assyrian reliefs, with which it has indeed so close a
resemblance that Helbig, speaking of the patera of Curium
(Annali d' Inst. Arch. 1876, p. 6), calls this pattern simply the
Assyrian sacred tree. It is, however, to be observed, that on
this patera it occurs five times between groups obviously
Egj'ptian in figure, dress, and subject of representation, on
which account one might at first suppose it to be an Egyptian
form of ornament. But it is not so in any respect. Looking
closer at the patera we see that it presents also very distinct
Assyrian elements in its design, and thus, while there is every
reason to suppose that the makers of the silver patera and of
the vases on p. 55 and No. 3, had borrowed the sacred tree
from Assyria, it is no less clear that they had at the same
time borrowed very conspicuous elements in their designs
from the Egyptians, and had combined these different elements
into a peculiar phase of decoration. The one people in
antiquity who affected this combination has been made out by
D D
394 APPENDIX.
Helbig in his researches, published in the Annali quoted above,
to be the Phcenicians, or, as he thinks, with a view to the
objects found in Italy and Sardinia, the western branch of that
race, whom we know as the Carthaginians. It does not, of
course, follow that in all the works of the Phixnicians the two
elements of Assyrian and Egyptian art should be equally
blended. If it were so, the vase of which we are speaking
(P- 55) could not be called Phcenician, since the animals on
it, as well as the tree, have a decided Assyrian character, and
altogether there is nothing on it which may not be traced to
Assyrian intluence. The rosettes placed on the fore and hind
quarters of the goats are such as occur frequently on the
Assyrian reliefs, while the oblong tablets let into the side of
each seem to me to contain an inscription which the painter
has only roughly indicated. A precisely similar tablet may be
PLATE XLII.
POTTERY. 397
seen on a Cyprus vase in the British Museum, on which it is
let into the side of one of the horses in a chariot group, which
is very distinctly Assyrian in the attitude of the horse, shape
of chariot, charioteer, and bowman, who turns and draws his
bow behind, while the horse gallops. Assuming these tablets
to represent writing, we must suppose it to be Assyrian writing,
and to be analogous to the hieroglyphics which occur on
similar oblong tablets on the patera of Curium, and other
paterae of the same class. It may be mentioned that cuneiform
inscriptions arranged in oblong spaces are of not uncommon
occurrence on the sculptures of Assyria. Or, again, these
tablets may correspond to the cartouches with hieroglyphics
which frequently occur on the silver vases of Phoenician work.
We may then conclude that the Cesnola vase (p. 55), and very
probably also the vase in the British Museum, are Phoenician
products under distinctly Assyrian influence. Of the other
three vases, however, i and 2 have each a clearly Egyptian
figure as their chief ornament. In both, the dress, the collar,
and the type of figure are Egyptian ; not so, the rudely
modelled head on the mouth of fig. i, which seems neither
Egyptian nor Assyrian, but resembles rather the work of a
potter unfettered by any traditional style.
The patterns on the sides of both these vases are not Egyptian,
nor necessarily even Assyrian, but belong rather to the kind of
decoration called by Conze Indo-European, and supposed by
him to have been brought into Europe by the Indo-European
race. Whether he is right, or whether Helbig (Annali d' Inst.
Arch. 1875, p. 221) is not more correct in believing these
patterns to have been learned by the Indo-European race,
after its settlement in Europe, through commerce with the
East, it seems to be agreed that the pattern of concentric
circles such as on fig. 2 is a pattern which had been developed
in the process of metal working. An example of the profuse
application of it to bronze work, may be seen in the two
discs found at Tarquinii, and engraved in the Monumenti
d' Inst. Arch. X, pi. 10. The guilloche pattern on the vase
fig. I. and the fragment of it between the feet of the figure
on vase 2, has had its origin in the process of plaiting, and
it may be remarked that the habit of filling up otherwise
vacant spaces on vases by means of fragments of patterns
(guilloche, wave pattern, meander) is very frequent on the early
pottery of Camirus in the British Museum (see also Conze,
398 APPENDIX.
Anfange d' Griech. Kunst). As regards patterns which have
been evolved out of purely industrial processes, it can hardly
be possible to trace their origin to one particular race, unless
these processes themselves can also be traced to the same
people. One might, perhaps, without much risk, eliminate the
Egyptian, but as to the Assyrian and Phoenician, it would
be impossible to assign priority to either, seeing that both
nations were, from the earliest antiquity, skilled in industrial art.
In these two vases there is to be noted also a peculiarity of
a considerable class of Cyprus vases, the arrangement of
patterns in vertical bands over the vase instead of horizontally
round it, as usual on ancient pottery. That the shape of the vase
is destroyed by this vertical arrangement need scarcely be
pointed out, when one remembers the consistency with which
the Greeks adhered to the horizontal bands, and so presented
one of many instances in which they appear as knowing
instinctively, the right principle of ornament. This is as much
the case in the earliest Athenian vases with geometric patterns,
as on the latest with designs of figures. Such an application
of ornament as that on vases i and 2, may be the result of a
mere seeking after novelty. It could hardly have been allowed in
any truly vital stage of the art of pottery. Possibly there never
was in Cyprus any such vital stage of the art. At any rate,
that island has not yielded any specimens which show any
special process of development. It has been suggested that the
system of decoration by numerous vertical concentric circles so
frequent in Cyprus pottery, may have been adopted to imitate
vases of wood in which the grain was visible ; but I do not see
that a wood vase need show its grain vertically, rather than hori-
zontally, in which latter way it would suit the form of the vase.
According to the usual explanation of its early stages, vase
painting began with geometric patterns (developed in industrial
processes) passed to figures of animals and plants (under
Oriental influence) and then reached the human figure, at
which point, it is argued the Greeks took up the art seriously,
and exhibited their full powers. But in the two vases (i and 2),
we have a combination of human figure and geometric pattern,
that is, a combination of the first and the third stages of the art.
At the same time the patterns are drawn very clearly and
accurately, while the figures are next to being grotesque, and
from this it might perhaps be inferred that the potter had
had much experience of the former, and little of the latter.
POTTERY. 401
which would confirm the opinion that the patterns came before,
if not immediately before, the human figure. This pattern, how-
ever, of concentric circles arranged in rows lasted for bronze
work down to Roman times, and can hardly alone be used
as evidence of the antiquity of the vases on which it occurs.
AltogetTier the pottery of Cyprus is singularly wanting in the
means of determining its date. In itself, it presents only a very
few successive stages; nor can it be positively said to have come
under the influences which determined the various more or less
well defined stages of Greek vase painting. There are, it is true,
in the Cesnola collection the great vase engraved pi. xxix.,
and another from Curium with black figures representing
Hercules and the Nemean lion, with Greek inscriptions, No. 32,
but these are so distinctly Greek, and so different from the rest
of the Cyprus pottery, that we must suppose them to have been
impui'ted casually. On the other hand, there is a small class
of vases which if they do not show the influence of the Greek
potter, show at least the influence of Greek sculpture. I mean
the vases represented by Nos. 0, 7, 8, on each of which is a
bust of a female figure modelled in the romid, and holding an
tenoclKic which forms the spout of the vase. On a vase of
POTTERY. 403
this kind now in the British Museum the bust is modelled in a
style of perfect freedom, as regards the features, hair, and chiton,
such as is understood to have been arrived at, for the first time
in Greece, in the time of Pheidias. On these vases the painted
ornament is very simple and correct in its application; but the
colours, which are bright and contrasted, are not such as we find
in Greek vase painting at any stage. Figs. 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, may be
ruder but need not be much earlier specimens of this class.
Together with the vases on which the human figure or parts
of it are modelled, should be noticed those in the form of
animals, rude in appearance and generally ornamented with
simple linear patterns painted on the clay (see p. 98). It is
very possible that they belong to an earlier period than the
previous class ; but how early is a difficult question. The
nearest comparison to them, and, indeed, to the Cypriote
vases in general which I have seen, is the pottery found in an
Etruscan tomb at Tarquinii, and engraved in the Monumenti
d' Inst. Arch. X, pi. 10^, where there is one vase in the shape
of an animal and painted with rude figures of geese, two paterae
with triangles and elementary meander patterns cut out through
the clay, and a vase with patterns of circles, all of which, if found
in Cyprus would be accepted without the slightest question, so
completely in keeping are they with vases in the Cesnola collec-
tion. Along with them were found two bronze discs (loc. cit. pi.
10) richly ornamented with rows of concentric circles, identical
in aspect with many of the Cyprus vases, though, of course, the
pattern correctly applied to the flat surface of a disc, cannot
appear equally so on the globular body of a vase. These articles,
though found in an Etruscan tomb, cannot be supposed to be
of Etruscan fabric in our present state of knowledge. On the
other hand there is no difficulty in, and there is plenty of analogy
for, assuming them to have been imported from Phoenician
traders, and if imported from the Phoenicians it will remain to
be settled whether this importation was made at the time of the
Carthaginian contact with Italy, or at an earlier period through
commerce with the Phoenicians of the East. If Helbig is right
in tracing the silver paterae and other antiquities from Caere,
Praeneste, and elsewhere in Italy to Carthaginian times, there
would for the present be a presumption in favour of accepting
the same date for the pottery from Tarquinii, and this would
necessarily also apply to the vases of the same class from
Cyprus, just as the date for the silver paterae from Csere and
£ £ 2
404
APPENDIX.
Prieneste, holds good for the silver patera from Curium and
elsewhere in Cyprus. •
Witli the exception of several vases which have been
pointed out as either being purely Greek, or as exhibiting
the influence of Greek sculpture, the rest of the pottery of
Cyprus, though varied to some extent in its ornament, is yet
sufficiently homogeneous in its material, colours, shapes, and
technical skill, as to be fairly regarded as the work of a people
in whom there was no really vital progress in the potter's art.
Reference has been made to the results of Helbig as showing
this people to have been the Phcenicians, and here I may add
that the vase engraved, p. 68, has a Phoenician inscription burnt
in on the clay. It may, therefore, be taken to be a Phcenician
production, and, if it is a fair type of any class of vases found
in Cyprus, but without inscriptions, we may conclude that
they also are of Phoenician fabric. It is certainly typical of a
considerable class, and considering that this class introduces a
I'Oi itKY. 405
different system of geometric ornamentation from that of the
concentric circles and gui]loches already remarked as pre-
sumably Phcenician, we obtain altogether a very great prepon-
derance in the number of Cypriote vases as claiming to be of
Phcenician fabric. This new system of decoration, of which
I am speaking, consists mainly of lozenges and chequers
arranged in horizontal and vertical bands. On the vases,
p. 68 and fig. 29, and on many others, this ornament is kept
pure and unmixed, and except for the clay, the colours
employed, and the shape of the vase, they occasionally
resemble closely specimens of the early geometric ware found
at Athens. On the other hand, it is not rare to find this
4o6 APPENDIX.
ornament mixed with animal forms, as on vase 15, where,
however, it is clear that the hand which traced the figure of
the swan could not escape from its habit of drawing geometric
lines. The body of the swan is nearly a circle, and its winj^^s
are two triangles. On vases 17, 18, and 20, there is rather
less of this geometric influence ; but still it is there. The
animals generally chosen on Cyprus pottery are swans, or at
any rate, aquatic birds. The swan may have had some
symbolic signification which determined its use on the vases
A
to the exclusion of other animals, and to some such reason the
absence of quadrupeds, for example, may be due. This latter
fact, however, deserves attention in view of the prevailing
theory, that the early Greek vases on which, besides swans,
sphinxes, and other creatures, figures of non-Hellenic animals,
such as lions or tigers occur, were due to Asiatic influence
brought to bear on the Greek potters through the medium of
the Phcenicians. Probably enough this was the case. Yet it
is very singular that the Plicenicians should not have reflected
in their own pottery this influence which they are supposed to
have transmitted. Nor can it well be said that we do not as
POTTERY. 407
yet know all the stages of their pottery, seeing that we have
now so vast a number of vases obtained from cities in Cyprus,
occupied by them for many centuries.. I have only seen
one vase from Cyprus (it is in the British Museum, and
was discovered by General Cesnola) which distinctly belongs
to the so-called Asiatic class, and it, in its clay, application of
ornament, shape, and entire aspect, stands out as a unique
thing among the other vases from Cyprus. So there is no
resource but to assume that it had been casually imported.
The vase 14 is nearly of the same class, and may be admitted
to be an imitation, though there is a provincial rudeness about
it not found on the others.
The vases with lozenges, chequers, and other rectilinear
patterns present, as has been said, the nearest approach to
the early geometric vases from Athens and other Greek sites.
(See Conze, Anfange der Griechischen Kunst, and Hirschfeld
in the Annali d' Inst. Arch. 1872, pi. k.) The Athenian vases
are, however, frequently much more elaborate, almost rivalling
in richness of pattern the great vase engraved pi. xxix. which,
indeed, seems to have been an importation from Athens. They
abound also in meander and spiral patterns, both of which are
extremely rare in Cyprus pottery, where rows of concentric
circles arranged with mechanical stiffness take, the place of the
rows of spirals drawn so gracefully with a free continuous
hand. That concentric circles do occasionally occur along
with other ornaments on Athenian vases is not to be denied,
but then it is not as in Cyprus, where they were, so to speak,
the rage of fashion. That the finer specimens of Cyprus vases
with rectilinear patterns (as on p. 68 and fig. 15) belong to the
same period as the Athenian rectilinear vases may be taken as
tolerably certain, and it is far from unlikely that it was
through commerce with the Phoenicians of Cyprus that the
Athenians learned this system of ornament, and afterwards
developed it, as usual with them, to its highest artistic perfec-
tion. When they gave it up to take to other systems, they
retained a few elements of it, such as the meander in sub-
ordinate positions, but as a system it was given up by them
entirely. The Cypriotes, on the other hand, seem to have
retained it along with their system of concentric circles to the
end, and for this reason it would not be allowable to infer the
date of their vases from the presence of geometric ornament
on them alone. As regards the class of vases with rectilinear
4o8
patterns and concentric circles incised on the clay foond
at Alambra along with bronze implements and rude terra-
cotta figures, they must be considered to belong to a period
wlien the patterns evolved from the process of bronze working
were in fashion, but it is not always necessary to define this
period as having been very remote, certainly not so in Cyprus.
(See p. 92 and fig. 28). Precisely the same ornament will be
seen incised on the bronze discs already mentioned from
POTTERY. 409
Tarquinii. ^ It would indeed be necessary to assume a very
early period for such ornamentation on vases, if we could
point to later and regular stages in the art of pottery in
CyiM*us, but only on that condition. No doubt the vases with
human figures in an Egyptian style, already desciibed, are
manifestly later, but they do not betray a regular development,
and one cannot say at what later tinie they may have been
made. Similarly, also, the vase with chariot in the British
Museum is an imitation of an Assyrian design ; while the two
vases with chariots engraved, p. 247 and p. 268, resemble Greek
vases of the third stage, but they, too, are obviously isolated
examples of imitation, and all one can argue from them
definitely is, that they must have been made when these designs
were respectively in fashion in Greece and Assyria. For
Greece, that could scarcely have been later than the sixth
century B.C., and perhaps this would also be suitable for
Assyria, as the latest possible date. But then the puzzle is to
conceive what the Cypriote potters, having thus early shown
so much skill, went on doing during the succeeding centuries.
They may have lapsed back to a mere system of patterns, and
on such a hypothesis one can understand the wonderful exact-
ness with which the ornament is executed on many of the
vases, but especially on those which have bands of numerous
concentric circles placed vertically, or both vertically and
horizontally, and intersecting each other with remarkable
precision, though, as already pointed out, such ornament is
destructive of the form of the vase, and cannot be defended on
any principle of decoration applicable to a globular surface.
To a vase of the form of fig. 17, vertical bands of circles are
appropriate enough, but this form of vase is peculiar to
Cyprus, I believe, and, considering its awkwardness, one would
think it had been extended sidewards out of mere desire for
novelty, or to accommodate the favourite design of vertical
circles.
Two vases in the British Museum obtained from General
Cesnola deserve notice for the advance which they present in
the application of geometric decoration, the peculiarity of them
being a certain constructive effect as in an architectural design.
In one place for instance we have what would be a set of
concentric circles, cut in two segments and separated by the
interposition of two triangles intersecting each other and filled
with oblique lines : the segment of circles on the one side
4IO APPENDIX.
balances the segment on the other side, and so on other
places of the vases we have similar effects. The colours,
which are purple and black on a drab ground, are fresh, and
altogether the impression left by these vases is that they
cannot belong to the period usually assigned to the early
geometric vases. This is confirmed by the occurrence on
them of those crosses which Dr. Schliemann calls suaslikas,
but which in fact appear to be only the simplest form or
element of the meander pattern. These crosses, along with
the elements of other patterns, are much used in the so-called
Asiatic vases to fill up the spaces, and, as already said, they
may be taken to be reminiscences of the earlier system of
decoration. But here on the vases from Cyprus, where the
system of decoration is geometric, they cannot have any such
function, and rather appear to owe their position to ignorance
of their original use.
Among the vases which strike one as specially late, is that
engraved p. 98, representing a serpent eating a fruit from a
tree. Then again the vase 30 cannot well be classed as early.
The volutes and floral pattern on the body are drawn with a
perfectly free hand, while the border of ornament round the
POTTERY, 411
shoulder is that which is very familiar on, and may be said to
be one of the characteristics of, the Greek black figure vases.
Clearly enough the application of a large floral pattern to the
body of the vase is entirely inconsistent with the practice of
Greek vase painters, but the pattern itself is quite Greek.
Round the neck is what at first appears to be a sort of net-
work, but on closer inspection it seems rather to represent a
broad plait or guilloche, and is thus appropriately placed round
the neck where the idea of compression is required to be con-
veyed. A vase almost identical with this one was found at
Camirus in Rhodes, during the excavations of Salzmann and
Biliotti, and is now in the British Museum. At p. 247 is
Fig. )■. Fig, ,1.
engraved a one-handled vase, with a form of ornament round
the neck precisely the same as that which occurs on several
vases from lalyssus in Rhodes, These lalyssus vases were
found in a tomb, the contents of which were undoubtedly of an
early character, though here again we meet the same difficulty
as in Cyprus, arising from the absence of distinctly later stages
of art from which to make a comparison. The greatest
obstacle which I find in accepting the lalyssus antiquities as
being of a date earlier than B.C. 600, is the presence among
them of a small seated figure in ivory, and a small bronze goat,
both of which seem to belong to a time when Greek sculpture
in the round had fairly begun to be a real art, and that cannot
well be said to have been the case previous to the date just
given. There is, too, a small figure of a sphinx in relief on a
412 APPENDIX.
sort of vitrified ware used to make necklaces of, which on its
merits, if found by itself, would probably be assigned to not
earlier than B.C. 600, while one of the gems, an intag-Jio in
rock crystal, representing a sort of goat, would under the
same circumstances very likely be similarly dated. Of course,
a particular fashion of pottery may have been retained in
constant use, and with hardly any change for centuries in out-
lying places, such as lalyssus or Cyprus, far removed from the
active centres of progressive art in Greece, where we know of
no stagnation, and on that theory it would be perfectly justifi-
able to assign the lalyssus pottery to a date perhaps even t^vo
or more centuries earlier than the several objects just described,
since what is properly meant by the date of a class of pottery
is the time at which it came first into use as a distinct fashion.
Accordingly, even if the tomb at lalyssus were positively
known to have been made not before B.C. 5oo, it would yet be
allowable to assume for its pottery in the main an" earlier date
of several hundreds of years.
It has been necessary to state this theory here because a
certain number of the Cyprus vases are included by Mr.
Newton in the argument by which he determines the antiquities
found by Dr. Schliemann at Mycenie to be of a date earlier
than B.C. 800. That is to say, with the shapes of vases and
special forms of ornament from Mycenae, he identifies, in a
number of cases, the shapes of vases and form of ornaments
from the tomb at lalyssus, and again identifies other vases
from this same tomb with vases from Cyprus.
PLATE XLIV.
DESKJNS ON TAINIKU VASliS.
DESIGNS ON PAINTED VASES.
Fig. 40.
■
. ..>.?»>*
..
Rg. 4..
DESIGNS ON PAINTED V
GREEK INSCRIPTIONS.
I.
A<I>P0A1TH - nA<l>IA
AHMOKPATHSPTOAEMAIOT
OAPXOSTONKINTPAAaN
KAIHnrNHEYNIKH
THNEATTfiNerrATEPA
APIS . . . . HN
Ar^fiOKpanjs FlroAc/uiaiov
*o apxps T&v KiwpaJb^v
liiv taVTiSv Ovyaripa
'Api<r . • r}v
From Palseo-Paphos. On a porphyry pedestal, originally
belonging to a statue dedicated to Aphrodite by Demokrates
and his wife in honour of their daughter. Demokrates here
styles himself the chief (^x^^) of the Cinyradae.
2.
A^POAITH nA<l>I E
OSSTAXTKPATOnO OTON
0E]OT2ETEPrETA2TEXNITI2NTAE
] IM0KP1T0NKAAAI2TI0N
'A(f>pobLTri na0i[f . . • €
• • • • Of DracriK/xirov to , . , , otov
$€]ov9 Eitpyiras rex^i/iToiv rae
Ai/jfiofcpiror KaXKlarnov
414 APPENDIX.
From Palaeo-Paphos. On a porphyry pedestal, originally
belonging to a statue of Aphrodite. In an inscription from
Paphos (Corp. Ins. Gr. No. 2620) mention is made of the
T€\viTaL ir€/ul Aiowirov koL $€ovs Eicpycray, and such was probably
their title in this inscription also.
3-
OnAONI
MEAANOim
KATArPA*02
rnEPTOTTIOT
KATAFPA^OT
ETXHN
^OiriovL MeXar^ui) Kariypoc^os vircp tov viov
KaTaypa<l>ov tixv^
From Palaeo-Paphos. On a small pedestal of red porphyry-
having the sockets by which a statuette had been attached.
4-
API2TArOPA2
SaSANAPON
TONEATTOYTION
OnAONIMEAAN0IX2
ETXHN
'ApKTTayopas ^(oaivbpov rbv iaviov
vlbv oTTaovi ^l^kavOCfa fixrjv
From Palaeo-Paphos. On a small column of white marble
on which had been a statuette.
5-
{a)
nOAEaS KAinOSTOYMAN
HMOS APETH2XAPIN
GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 415
APXETIMHNAnEAAEOT20TrATEPA
TAnArATA2AMIONKAI0NH2IA02
'Ap\€TLfirjv 'AttcWcovs Ovyaripa,
Ta Ttaihia lS,afiiov koI 'Oirriai\os,
From Palaeo-Paphos. On a pedestal of blue granite, in-
scribed on two sides. Length 2 ft. 10 in., ht. 8 in.
6.
TONMANTIAPXONKAn • NAAEI
POAITH2KAIAI02nOAIE02 . . H . . 2 <I>IAA
Tov pLavTLap\ov
^ A(f)]pobCTr]s Kol At09 noAuo9
From Palaeo-Paphos. Built into wall of church.
7.
(a)
KAPniONATONEATT . . OATEPA
HPOAOT02KAPnil2NnTOAEM
KAIOirnATTONTETArMENOI
KATATHNNH20NAPXITEKT0I
KapirCova tov kavr&v iraripa
'HpoboTOS, Kapirmv, nToA€/x[a?o$
Kal oi vtt' avTc^v T€Tayp.ivoi
Kara t7]v vijaov ip\LT€Kro[v€9
NXP0N02HXI . . . TON . E2A . 0TAP0NEAAA2EKAE1ZEN
OATPriMctA . . AMn . . AAAAMA22ArOPA
NEAOSrPOrONOIAONOMAXTOIAn . . 2
EKrON02 ATPEIAANE.VAAA02 AFEMENIiN
4l6 APPENDIX.
'H]i; \p6vos fivi [xa] rov [i]€ <r[o^«rar]ov "'EXXas IkKuC^v 4t
TraTp&fi <^a [ ] /i ?r[aij5a 5a/iao'<r' iyopi
[Tlarpts €/uiol Tc]i^€5os irpoyovoi V ovofiiaToi av airrjs
"EKyovos 'ATp€ihaif''EXXahos ayffiovmv
From Palaeo-Paphos. On a pedestal of blue granite inscribed
on two sides.
8.
NIKANA
pocrnEF
TOTTIOT
TIMAFOPA
Nucardf>o$ vv^p rov viov Ttfiayopa
From Neo-Paphos. Roughly cut on the breast of a statuette
in calcareous stone.
9-
AP2IN0H1 <|)IAAAEA*m NATAAI
APISTOKAHS AP12T0KE0T2
AAEEANAPET2
'Apcivoji <l>iAa5A<^ "Sdiabc
* ApLOTOKXrjS ' ApliTTOKXioVi
*Ak€(ai*bp€V9
From Cythrea. Apparently from the base of a statue dedi-
cated to Arsinoi, the daughter of Ptolemy Lagus, by Aristokles,
son of Aristokles, a native of Alexandria, unless this Aristokles
can be the name of the sculptor. The form and disposition of
the letters are in the best style of the Macedonian period.
lo.
OATMniAAATHNOYrATEPA
APTEMn2TH22EAETK . .
nPi2TX2N4>IAi2NTOT2TA
KAINATAPXOTKAIAPXIE
«l>TrATP02HnOAI2II
GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 417
^OKvfiTrtiba r^v Ovyaripa
'Afir€ii&9 rijs ^€\€Vk[ov ....
Ttpiiroiv <l>CK(t>v, Tov aTpa[Triyov
Kal vavApxpv koI ap\ii[p€OiS
OuyaTpbs* ^ voKis ^[ . . . •
From Cythrea. On a pedestal of blue granite. The
Seleukos here mentioned as general, admiral, and high priest,
is probably the Seleucus, son of Bithys, who was commander
in Cyprus in the time of Ptolemy III. Euergetes, and in whose
honour an inscription by the town of Curium will be found in
£ngel (i. p. 118), and in the Corpus Inscript. Graec. No. 2629*
The present inscription is a dedication by a town, the name of
which is lost, in honour of Olympias, a daughter of Artemo.
II.
OT21NTOAA2
TSIASMETEXEINnANTAS
ANlEPX22ANTX2NTH©Ei2l02TE
AITX2NAN IEPi2MENX2NTH2TOTEN
MOKPATOrrrOTKAlMENESTPA
NAP10TTOTE4>HBAPXOTAPrTP10
20HN AITH0Ei2nOTHPI A E^SIN B
2I0TKAI2AP022EBA2T0TKAI
O . . . 0T0INT0T2EP
ovtriv ri Acur
6']var(as /xcr^x^iv vivras
ivi€pui(rivT<av rfj Oii^ 6<r t€
Kci T&v ivuptapivuiv r^9 rot) iv
^yLOKparovs rov koX M€V€<TTpa . . .
"IvbpCov TOV ifl>riPdp\ov ipYvpio[v iyoKpia ?
iL](rOrivai ttj $€^ noTripC<^ iifi* &v i , , ,
]<riov KaCffapos 2€)3<ioTov icai • . ,
K]ovolvTov 2ep . • •
From Cythrea. On a fragment of blue granite found in the
enclosure of a temple.
F F
41 8 APPENDIX.
12.
AnOAAQNIAAKCITHIAPICCTOYC
MANPTIAXOCVnEPKAEONOC
TOrVlOY
ANEeEKENENTYXHI
'AttoAXcovi AaKtCrri 'Apio-orows
yavrlapxos vitip KXiovos
Tov viov
ividrjKfP iv riyr).
From Pyla. On a block of limestone. The title mantiarchos
(line 2) occurs in Waddington, No. 2795, but written Main-«-
^PX^s according to Ceccaldi (Rev. Arch. 1874), who publishes
this inscription.
13-
(a) AEONTIOI
EHAPXIKO
(6) EPMOAAOC
EnOIOYN
(c) H-YXAPOYC
a.
AfOVTiOt
'ETrapxtKo(i)
6.
'EpfAoAao9
'(TToCoVV
e.
^vxipovs.
From Salamis. On a pedestal of white marble, now in the
Louvre. M. Ceccaldi (Rev. Arch. 1874) thinks that the name
Psycharous (c) is that of the dedicator of the statue, which
had probably stood on this base. Hirschfeld, Tituli Sta-
tuariorum, &c., p. 202.
GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 419
14.
KO0OT2
ETIOT
2AAAMINIA
XAIPE
K060VS Eitov SoAa/xtVta X'^^P^
From Salamis. On a marble slab found in a tomb.
15-
TIBEPmiKAI2API2:EBA2Tf2I0Em0EOT2:EBA2TOTTim
ATTOKPATOPIAPXIEPEIMEri2TX2IAHMAPXIKH2EEOT2IAC
TOAAEnTAETKIOTAEAlOTNA2ONO2AN0TnATOTKAIi\lAPK
or
ETPEIATOTAOTnEPKOTnPE2BETTOTKAirAIOT<I>AABIOT*H
AOTTAMIOT
AAPA2T02AAPA2T0T<E>IA0KAI2AP0ENrENIK02IEPET2T0T
ENTQrTMNA2IX2IKATE2KETA2MENOYTnOATTOTEKTOTIA
lOT
TIBEPI0TKAl2AP022EBA2TOTNA0TKAIArAAMATO20^IA0
nATPI2
KAinANAPETO2KAIAX2PEANKAIAT0AIPETO2rTMNA2IAPX
02KAr
TOArAAMAIAIOI2ANAAX2iMA2INTX2IATOY0EX2IEcI>nBAPXOT
NT02
AIONT2IOTTOTAIONY2IOYTOTKAIAnOAAOAOTOT4>IAOKAI
2AP02
AAPA2TO2AAPA2TOT4>IAOKAI2APKA0JEPI22EN2TNKA0IE
P0TNT02
KAITOTTIOTATTOTAAPA2TOT4>IAOKAI2AP02TOTKAIAYTO
TAI2PEAN
KAIAT0AIPETOTrrMNA2IAPXOYTX2NnAIAnNTHirENE2IX2
TIBEPIOY
Lis
AnorONIKOT KL
F F 2
420 APPENDIX.
TififpCi^ KaCa-api 2€)3(i<7r<p 6^^ $€ov ^fpitrrov ii^
AxfTOKparopi 'Ap\i€p€L Mcyfory brjpLapxiKfjs iiovaCas
t6 AA iiu AcvK&v A^Xiov Ndcoro; ipSvirdrov kcu MipKov
'ErpfibCov (?) hovTtipKov Trp€<rfitvTov kcu FaCov 4>Xaj3(OV ^Xov TOfitoo
^Abpaaros 'Abpiarov (f>i\oKai<rap 6 ivytviKos Up€if9 tov
iv r<p yvpLva(riif^ KaT€<rK€vaa'ixivov iirb airrov iK tov Iblov
TtfifpCov KaCaapos l^fidarov vaov kclL iyiXfiaros 6 ^iXoirarpis
KCU iravaperos kcu ha>piav kcu avSaCpcTos yvyLvaalap^os koX
TO iyaXpia IbloLS iva\(ifjLa(nv ti^ ovt^ $€f^* *Efl>rifiapxovjrro9
Aiowa-iov TOV Aiowa-Cov tov koi ^AttoXXoMtov ^iXoicaurapos*
'AbpaaT09 'AbpiaTov ^tXoKaurap KaOUpo)(r€v avvKaOi^povvTos
kclL tov vlov avTov 'Abpiarov if>i\oKaCa'apos tov koI ovtov boipi .
Koi avOaipirov yv^vaaiip\ov t&v iratdc^v r^ ytv^al^
TiPtplov
Us
'ATToyovtKov KL
From Lapethus. On a pedestal found in the ruins of
Lapethus, and now in the courtyard of a Greek convent called
Acheropiti. The date of the inscription is a.d. 29, in the
sixteenth year of the tribunicia potestas of Tiberius, when
Lucius Aelius Naso was pro-consul of Cyprus.
16.
EnEIAHNOYMHNIOSNOTMHNIOr
ETEPrETHS12NTH2nOAEX12AIETEAEIAE
THNnA2ANEniMEAEIANnOIOTMEN02TOTTE
APXIEPEX22KAlTXlNIEPEX2NKAIAOrXlIKAIEPri2I
EAOHENnPAHIAHMX2ITmAPXIEPETKAITOI2IEPET2I
T0Tn02EIAXlN02T0TA(?)APNAKI0TA0TNAI
NOTMHNimKAIErrONOI2XlNAN0Yi22IN
ATEAEIANT12NrEPX2NEI2TONAnANTAXPONO
TTXHITHIArA0HI
'ETTcid^ "NovpLTivtos 'NovfArjvCov
€V€pyiTrjS il>V TTJS IToXfOiS diCT^Xci bi
TTiv Tii(rca/ €inpLiX€iav Troiovfi,€Vos tov re
apytipicDS Koi Ttav l€p4(»>v, Kai Xoyta kcu ipy^*
^Ebo^^v Upa^ibrjpn^ rtp ipxi^p^i, koI rots Upcvtri
TOV Uoa-tibwvos TOV ' apvaKLov bovvai
Nov^rjvl^ Kai iyyovois &v iiv Ovuxriv
ircXciav t&v y€pw €h tov iiravTa xpovov
GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 42!
From Lamaca of Lapethus. On a stone found in a circular
ruin. On a projection of the stone is inscribed NOTMHNIOS
NOTMHNIOT. The name Noumenios occurs in a bilingual
inscription in Greek and Phoenician from Athens, while the
name of the high priest here mentioned, Praxidemos, also
occurs in a similar bilingual found previously at Larnaca of
Lapethus, and published by Gesenius and De Vogu6. This
inscription is a degree conferring on Noumenios and his
descendants for all time exemption from handing over to the
priests those parts of animals (yipa) sacrificed which other
persons were obliged to hand over (Hermann, Griech. Anti-
quitaten, ii. 35, 11). The decree is passed by the chief priest
and the priests, and this honour is paid to Noumenios because
of his being a benefactor of the city, and because of his having
made the whole arrangements both of the chief priest and the
priests by word and deed. The title here given to Poseidon is
not positively illegible as regards the first letter, which seems
to be Ai In that case the epithet Lamakios would not only be
new but would be extremely curious, since it may have a local
signification, and since the name of Lamaca is assumed to be
modem«
17-
AHMHTPI OAAHNI
TIMOAXIPOC
Ai}fit;rp( — ['Air] 6\X.u>vi
Tifioiuipos
18.
APiMOKIA
TIMOAnPC
ApifioKia
19.
TIMOAAPOZAEK
APIMOKIAABh
ERPIATOI
422 APPENDIX.
AptfJLOKia A/SI-
'EirplaToi .
Nos. 17 — 19 are from Golgoi, and are incised on limestone ;
the two first on blocks, and the third on a pedestal, on which
there are also some Cypriote characters. No. 17 is a dedication
to Demeter and Apollo. Nos, 18, 19 are dedications to
Drimokia, perhaps a local name of some goddess. For No. 19
see Appendix and pi. i in Mr. Isaac H. Hall's paper on ** The
Cypriote inscriptions of the Di Cesnola Collection " in the
Journal of the American Oriental Society, x. 1875.
20.
EICeEOC
TOMEriCTA
(r) ONTOENAOZO
{ra) TONONOMA
BOHemACIAEO
MEeE
Ets 0coy,
TO iieyiKXTa'
{t)ov to ivbo^O'
{tojtov ovoixa
fiorjOi, Ttao'i 5(0-
From Golgoi. On fragment of limestone column. Below
the inscription are two wreaths, within one of which is in-
scribed HAI02. The letters are very late, and i is used for
€i. M. Ceccaldi (Rev. Arch. 1874) thinks this inscription may
be Christian.
21.
znrENHz
ZUKPATOY
ITEYZ
From Golgoi. On fragment of a marble stele. Ceccaldi,
Rev. Arch. 1874.
GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 423
22.
MHAOTXEATXIN 0HKENArA0HITTXHI .
Mrj\ovx€aTm>{rl irokis, ivi)6rjK€v, ayaBf] TV')(ri,
From Melusha. Broken in the middle. The name of the
town may have been MrjKovxoSy or MrjXuiix^a ; the modem name
is Melusha ; and the Cypriotes of the present day pronounce
the X like sh before the vowels c,»|, t, v, and before the diphthongs.
ONH2ArOPA2TnEPTH2rTNAIK02NIKIOT
KAITH20TrATPO2 YA<|)POAITHIMT
KHPOAI PX2MH2EAIKOT2H2
^OirrjaaySpas v-nip t^s ywaiKos NikCov
Kal TTJs Bvyarpoi . . . . v 'X<f)pohLTrj Mv
K7Jpob(i) PcS/Aiyy 'EAtKovcnyy.
From Melusha. The epithet here applied to Aphrodite,
MvKripo^, means a walnut or almond tree.
24.
EYXHANEMIAZAPOAAui Nl
From Leucolla. Graffito on calcareous stone. Ceccaldi,
Rev. Arch. 1874.
25.
XA
PITW
NOC
From Magrastica. On the foot of a circular terra-cotta
vase. Ceccaldi, Rev. Arch. 1874.
26.
ENNI MNH0
XINEH HOArO
O E PA2f2
N
'En'iuiV C7ro[t»;(r]£. Mirrl[(r]0r] 6 ayopi(r<AV,
424 APPENDIX.
On a glass cup, the letters in relief. A similar warning'
(Mi^o-^t; 6 iyopda-iDv) occurs on a glass vase in the Museum of
Modena, described by Cavedoni (Annali dell' Inst. Arch. xvi.
p. 163). The name of the maker, Ennion, is found on a vase
formerly belonging to M. Soph. NicolaYdes, of Lamaca, and
on a very beautiful glass amphora from Kertsch, engraved
Antiquit^s du Bosphore Cimmerien, pi. 78. Ceccaldiy Rev.
Arch. 1875. Now in the British Museum.
27.
a.
b.
ETTEN
MEAAN0EnTXI
From Idalium. On a glass aryballos, the letters in relief.
Ceccaldi, Rev. Arch. 1875. Now in the British Museum.
28.
tt. 0.
MEFHC MNHC0H
EnOHCEN OArOPACAC
From Marium. On a glass cup, the letters in relief.
Compare No. 26, where we read ayopJurmv instead of ayopaaas,
Ceccaldi, Rev. Arch. 1875.
29.
APOAAWNIOC TW PAT
KAITHMHTPIAPr
TON r EPI BOAON KAIT
YM WN AYTWN ENTOAACEAY
EAYTOYTHCCOAI WN rOAEW
EYAPXHCACPANMATE AZAEAPIU)
BiBAKHYAAKiOYrENOMENOZ Ufi
-nvTinv lie ' MHTEYCACTHNBOYAH
sUYilUY Kb AHZACTWNEPIPAYAOY
YPATOY
GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 425
'AiroAXttVio; r^ Trarpi
fcou rrj iMTirpl 'Ap
TOV Tl€pCfio\oV Koi
Vfiuiy avTCiP ivroXas ea
iavTov Tfjs 2oA^a>v v6\€aiS •••.•.
Up€Lpxri(ra9 YlavpLaTtCpas
)3i/3Aio<f»vAaKiov yivofxevos
( ' K P Ti.pL'qTcviTas ri]V lSkA)\r\v . . .
From Soli. On a pedestal of white marble, found in a
circular edifice near the small factory of Karavostasi. The
above reading and the following notes are by M. Pierides,
ITa/uifuircipa is a surname of Gaea. [ Jiriorcin}; ?] )3v)3Xio<f>vXa-
icfou= Custodian of the Public Records. riftTyrcvo) — ^is, to be a
Censor- (rt/ii/nys); but what office a Censor "to the Senate"
was does not appear. A»;/uiapx]ff<wo"tos: one of the months of
the Cyprian Calendar, corresponding to April 23 — May 23.
The* Proconsul Paulus may be the Sergius Paulus of the
Acts of the Apostles (cap. xiii.), as instances of the suppression
of one of two names are not rare.
30.
AHMOXAPHZ
nEPZEYTHI
EYXHN
From Curium. On a pedestal of calcareous stone, to which
is still attached the lower part of a statue. What deity may
be meant under the title of Perseute, which occurs in this and
the following inscription cannot at present be made out.
31.
AHMO ro
PATIZ AZ
nEPZEYTHI EYXHN
From Curium. On a pedestal of calcareous stone.
426 APPENDIX.
\
^2.
— AIAPHANTONOIEPETS
KAIArOPANOMOSKAI
IT0I2AAA0I2 0EOT2
— 0AIN0T2A2:OT2[A2Eni
— AIA4>TAA22aNKAlTHN
— EIKNTMEN02 TH2AE
— ENHNEKTA1<I>P0NTIAA
— ENAOEOT2ANAPA2KAI
— TH2E2TIA2METOXOT2
— TH2nOAEX22EOPTAI2
HMX2nAPE2XHTATAT2ITE
— NANA2TPA<I>EI2KAIT0N
EnT2KETA2A2T0NTEnPO
02K AI K AT ATOTTO AOH H2
OMENOI2TA2ATTA2APXA2
— nPEnOT2AN T0I22TEM
ONTft2TYXEINATT0NKAl
XAP12T1A2
2EnAINE2AITET0N
XPT2X2I2TE<tAN12I
OTNENTXilEniSHMO
ATTOTOMOIX22EN
— NArPAnTHNENA2niA
— ANArPA*AlEl22THAHN
E2EI AX22INTHNTE
0TOY2KAAX22KAIEM
0TTA2KATASIA2
• Kjat ap^dvTOiV 6 Uptvs
' Koia yofjavoixos koX
— - — Ktt'l rots oAAoiS deois
— — •n]6\iv ovcras oif<rias ^ni
bia(f)v\A<r<T<M}v Kol rijp
b€iKirjfi€Pos Trjs hi
ivTfvtKTai <l>poirriba
— ivb6(ovs ivbpai Koi
TTJS iiTTLaS fl^TOXOVS
— — Tijs iroXccos ioprais
— h]qix(a •napicryi]TaK \vavT€
iva(Trpai^M kgi toj;
GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 427
im<rK€vi<ras tov T€ vpo-
OS KoL Kara tovto bo^rjs
— — — — — — oixivois TCLS avras ip^as
TrpifTovirav rois crr^fn
oWwS TV\€lV aVTOV Koi
evxa/JicTTias.
"Edoff ry brjpL<a koI rots (rvvihpoi] s iTTaivi<rai re rbv
TOV b€lvos Kal aT€<t)avQiaai ] xpv<r^ 0T6</)<ii'a>
fytlpai V avTov ayaXfia x^'f] ^^^ ^v t<S iiriatifjio
rciry T^s itoAccds roTiy Kai frepov] airoC ofioicos ^v
. • • . • dra^eirai hi €Ik6] va ypaTrrriv iv ia-rrlbi
TO Sc ^f^uriUL ] ivaypic^ai els trrqXriv
XlBCvtiv Kcd enteral iv ottojs tiv vavT^es flb&aiv rfflf re
— — — — — — — otc kolKZs KcCi iv
— — — — — — — 0 vras Kor' a^lav.
From Curium. In the church of Aghios Hermogenes.
M. Pierides, to whom I owe the above reading of the in-
scription, adds the following remarks about it. It is a decree
conferring civic honours ; the letters are of the second cen-
tury, B.C. The inscription is in two parts, with a space
between them; the first, or introductory part (TrpojSovAev/ia),
enumerates the public offices held by the recipient, and the
services rendered by him to the town, setting forth his piety
and liberality during public festivals, the restorations under-
taken at his expense, &c. ; then comes the decree proper,
declaring him worthy of public praise, and awarding him a
gold crown, apparently two statues, a shield or plate of metal
with his portrait, and a decretal stel^, in order that " people
may know how virtuous citizens are rewarded," &c. ip^ivTiav
refers to the offering of first fruits, from which it would appear
that in this case the Senate of Kurion, before proceeding to
business, had performed a religious ceremony.
33-
KOINTONKAIAIONONXlPATONEnAPXON
2EITOTA02Ef22AHMOTPf2MAmN
nPE2BETTHN5:iKEAIA2nPE2BETTHN
nONTOTKAIBEl0TNIA2AN0TnATON
KTn POTAI An PONOHTOTArONT2IOT
TOYTPT<I>X2N02TOTKPATHT02
APX0NT02
428 APPENDIX.
(Kovpii<Av ri fiovXri koI 6 ifjiios)
KoivTov KaiKiov 'Ovf^pirov "EvcLpxpy
atCrov fto(r€a)( Arjfiov *Po>ficUa)i'
Uptcrpevrriv XiKtkias, Ylpta-pwrriv
IlovTov KOI BtiBvvCas 'AvdivaTov
Kvirpov : hia irpovoqrov Aiowo-iov
Tov Tpviptavos : rod KpaniTos
&PXOVTOS.
From Curium. The reading is by M« Pierides. In the
first line only the lower parts of some of the letters are pre-
served. "Eirapxpv a-irov iocfats is the Greek translation of Prae-
fectus frumenta dando. Ilpowwynys, the same as BmiA€XriTrfs==
Curator or Superintendent of Public Edifices. The inscrip-
tion is a dedication by the Senate and People of Kurion in
honour of Quintus Caelius Honoratus, Proconsul of Cyprus,
in the Archonship of Crates, the honorary statue having
been erected under the care of Dionysios, son of Tryphon.
This inscription adds one to the short list of Proconsuls of
Cyprus.
34-
STOPFHIAAOAAM
KAiniNTTHNOP
HPmAorrrNO
KEINAOAPAIZ
APKEIMOinOS
STNZfiKA
XAIPEKAIEI
Propyl) Aaobcifi
Koi iriWTTiv 6p
*Hp<pftov (rivo
K€tva irapatCl^i
ipK€l fwi noa-
ffvvC^ fca
Xaipe KOi €l[s ^Atbriv ?
From Curium. The reading is by M. Pierides. Fragment
GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 429
of a metrical epitaph in honour of Laodameia by her husband
HeroTdes ; the letters are of the Augustan age.
35.
AiobiApov TKavKov
rby (sic) y€v6ix€vov Upia
Tov 'AitoAXoDPoSf ol mol
FAavKOf, fcai 6 Upcifs
^ApiOTOTiKris, kcH 'lacrttv.
This and the following inscription are from the ruins of the
Temple of Apollo Hylates (Hyl^, near Kurion). The reading
is by M. Pierides, who had the assistance of a transcript made
from the stone some years ago when it was in better pre-
servation. The date of the inscription is about the beginning
of the first century, B.C. ; it is a dedication in honour of
Diodorus, son of Glaukos, priest of Apollo, by his sons
Glaukos, Aristoteles, and Jason.
36.
4>IA12N . A . . . .
4>IA12TEPANTHN<l>IAinnOT
THNEATTOrnrNAIK
^i » (av • a —
^iXcuripop rr\v 4>iAfinrov
Tr\v lavTov yvvaXKo.
From ruins of Temple of Apollo Hylates. Published by
Sakellarios.
APTEMIAIPA • AM A • OAYMRIA
NOCEYAAIMWNYnEPeYrATPIAHC
BEPIANHC
'ApW/iidi ITapaXii^ *OAv/i7ria
V09 Kihalijuav vvip OvyaTpi^rjs
Bfpuunjs*
430 APPENDIX.
From Larnaca. M. Pierides has been enabled to make out
the reading UapaXCq, in the first line from the following inscrip-
tion in his possession, and found in the same locality, viz. the
"Salines:** 'ApWutSt HapaKla tv^afxcvos AifprjKio^ 'Apurroir iarpos
ipfay VTT^p Ovyarpos Avp' ^OuTiciixiavTJs rrjs koX 'OAv/utTTAai'iJs. He
states that on the same spot was also found a copper vessel
containing from twelve to fourteen hundred gold staters of
Philip and Alexander. There may have stood there a temple
to Artemis as goddess of the coast (irapoAia). On a small
pedestal of red and white breccia. Ceccaldi, Rev. Archeo-
logique, 1874.
38.
rozEiAnNioz
HAIOAnPOY
Ylo(r€LhJivios
'HkLohdpov,
From Larnaca. On a stele of white marble, with top in
form of a pediment. Ceccaldi, Rev. Arch. 1875.
39-
CeMNONAeiZHCACBIOTON
MAKAPAPT€MIAWPE
CW^POCYNHNAIACHN
XAIPeKAieN^eiMCNGIC
^€fJLv6v i^l CW^9 fiiOTOV,
lAOLKap 'ApTCfllboipCj
(r<ti<f>po(rvvr}v bih <rj)];,
Xatpe Kcu iv <f>Oifiii;ois»
From Larnaca. On a round cippus ; distich in hexameter
and pentameter. Ceccaldi, Rev. Arch. 1875.
40.
eiKAIMOIPIAIONTEAOC
Hr€C€rHCYnOKOAnOYC
CUnATPECCMNCeANUN
XAIPCKAICN^eiMCNOIC
GREEK INSCRIPTIONS. 43I
El Kot noip&iov riKos
^ye <r« yfjs vvo kJAvovs,
2<tf7arpc ffffU'c 6avuv,
X''>''^pf Kai ^v <f>diixivois.
From Larnaca. On a slab of white marble ; distich in
hexameter and pentameter. Ceccaldi, Rev. Arch. 1875.
41.
IVIIA - OIVM
PI • I • OONATA
H • S • EST •
lOYAIAOAYMnOYAnE
AEVeEPAAWNATA
XPKTHXAI PE
'lovkta ^OKvfjLirov dire
Xpri(TTri xa«/>f-
From Larnaca. On a square stone; bilingual inscription
of Julia Donata, a freed female slave of Olympus. In the
Latin part of the inscription L is written I, as given by Cec-
caldi, Rev. Arch. 1875.
42. 43.
KITIAC EPI2C
From Larnaca. On two terra-cotta bottles; the inscriptions
red. Ceccaldi, Rev. Arch. 1875.
44.
ITA0AONinAAAC
NOnAElTHNAPMAnuJAIKONKAI
TPIKOTCArvjuNACrENTAGAGT-
©AHClNAYTOT4)IAOnONlAC
AYTvjJTEKAITHnATPIAI
INOTHTOC XAPIN.
432 APPENDIX.
. . viiflradkov l[Tr]iribai ....
. . . • V 6n\€iTriv ipfia vtoKiKov koI
.... &]piKovs iyiivas Tr€vrid\ov
i]$\ri(nv avTov if>ikoirovias
i]avTif T€ Kol T^ irarpibi
• • crtJixvoTrjTOS X^piv.
From Lamaca. On a slab of white marble; the letters
are of a very late period. The inscription is in honour of an
athlete who had been victorious in certain public games, and
had brought credit to himself and to his native place.
45'
NH <l>IAON
TONENTEXNAI2
MAFEIPIKAISAEI
4>ANENTAXPH2TOI
TON2EMNONAN
. . . ABAKXINHAE
ANONTAFH
NH . • • <l>i\ov
Tov iv rixvais
lAaytupiKOis itl
^vivra xpr^arov
TOV <r€fivov iv
bpa BoKxiVf rib
t\€i 0aif6vTa yij
From Lamaca. In very small letters of a late period, with
occasional ligatures. The reading here given is by M. Pierides,
who is reminded by the fact of the inscription being in honour
of a cook that Cyprus has always been famous for persons of
culinary skill ; down to recent times Cypriote cooks were in
request at the embassies and consulates of the Levant.
GREEK INSCRIPTIONS.
433
46.
47-
48.
AA4»poAHZIOY
KYPIA€
TIMWN
ANTOC
XPHCT6
XPHCTE
NAAZKAAY
XAIPE
ZANArNXl
APIN
49.
50.
51.
APTI
KAAAAIUN
MAPKAINA
NIA
€Yr^rxlOYA!C
XPHCTHX€P€
X€P€
A9ANATOC
52.
53-
54-
KPATHAXPHC
NACIA
ARC
TKXAIP€
HCTH
enOICENEYE
55-
♦lAOKV
XPHC
XAIP€
56. 57-
AHMHTPIA nACIKINHXPHCT€
XPHCTHX€P€ XAIP€
58.
59.
60.
A9HN€AP
ANTI
€nA*PO
XI€P€OY
nATP€
A€IT€
XPHCT€
XPHCT€
XPHCT€
XAIP€
XAIP€
XAIP€
61.
62.
63.
20IA IHXPH
AY3 HTE
AnOAAU)
CTHXEPE
XPhCTEXAIPE
NIAAHMH
OYAEICABA
eAPC(«)OYA(«s)
TF lOYXPHC
NATOC
ASANATOC
THXAtPE
G G
34
APPENDIX.
64.
65.
66.
AtPOAICI
♦lAOKVnPE
APTEMEIAUPE
XPHCTE
XPHCTE
XP€CT€
XAIPE
XAIPE
xeP€
67.
68.
69.
TYXIKh
XPYCOrONH
ZDIAA
XPhCTh
CU)4>PU)N
XPHCTH
XAIPE
XAIP€
•
70.
ANAPONIKC
XPHCT6
X€P€
XAIPE
71.
72.
73-
AnoAONIAH
PHr€INA
AHMHTPIANH
XPHCTE
XP€Ch
XPHCTH
XAIPE
X€P€
XCPC
74-
75.
76.
rozEuz
EYOAIA
NIKOnOAl
XPHCTE
XPHlTH
XPHCTE
XEPE
XAIPC
XEPE
n-
78.
79-
AHMHTPIANH
€YnPAnAXPH
AnOAAUNA
XPHCTHXAIPE
CTHXAIP6
XPHCT€X€P€
80.
81.
82.
APT€mIAU)P€
♦iPMEXPHrrE
EnhKThTE
XPHCT€XAIP€
XAIPE
XPHCTE
83.
84.
85-
TEIMUN
MAPK€AA€
EU)CIU)P
XPHCTE
XPHCT€
€A-|-P€
XEPE
XAIPC
CT€+€
GREEK INSCRIPTIONS,
435
86.
87.
88.
EnA4»POAEITE
AHMHTPIUN
POAtON
XPHCTE
XPHCT6
xPhaAi
XAIPE
X6PAI
XAIP6
89.
go.
91.
♦AWP6
DNHCIME
APTEMIAU)
XPHCT€
XPHCTE
P€XPHCT€
XAIP€
XEPE
XAIP€
92.
93
94.
MAPK€A€
KAPne
A AIRE
XPHCT€
XPHCT€
XPHCTE
XAIP€
xAipe
XAIPE
95.
96.
97.
EVTYXIA KAI
OAVMniANC
n€Pir€NiA
eAPZAAEE
XPHCT€XEP€
XPHCTH
XEPETE
XAIP€
98.
•
AnOAh)
-
NiAH
XHCTE
XAIPE
Nos. 46 — 98 are from Larnaca.
99.
PHIC
HPnACO.i
MHAENARATPIA
TAWCCHniKPO
KEIMAIYnOX0ONIO
TOYCnPINAnOIXOM[/»'ows
KUKYtOrONEUNI P
COIXAPICEYHCaMJ/it
EYNACONHAH YNO
APKETATE
c c 3
436 APPENDIX.
lOO.
APT€MIAU)P€
KYNr€XPHCTE
XAIP€
lOI.
€Yi^XI€Y
XlAN€OY
AICAOANA
TOC
I02.
nACIXPA~HXPHCT€
XAIP€
Nos. loo — 102 found in tomb, with glass objects, at Idalium.
103.
€YTYXHA>.PH
Cr€X€P€
104.
ONHCIKPATHXPHC
T€ XAIP€
Nos. 99 — 104 are from Idalium.
105.
APT€MIAOP€XPHCT€XAIP€
From Alambra. On a mortuary stele of calcareous stone.
This stele has a head and bust in relief.
Platc/
»
X
■H-
HI
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00
K<
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«
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-n \
it
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^
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X-
lo
i;s.
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^
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•O
HI
i«
>f
X-
'5'
>^
X
X
HI-
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^-^ Plate2
^ sk >lc F ^iTik jlc 0'^
F
N9 7
N98
N?9
J^=r':]fo^;^
N9I0
^•/ j>k m X '^•b
>|C'?» V h T /? • >k 'S-h
N?ll
PlateS
N?I2
/•:^C:^^^ >|c o^
N9I3
/ii^^
N9I+
^X->r
T
1^
1
I
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N9I8
\^ fJ^F
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N9I9
Plate^
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<"
'•V
«
-». CD i* T?
N92I
Pla te 5
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z
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: HI <»
5^ -^
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05
N?28
N?29
^^-^
N? 30
»'Mlllftli^ liililll)'
"-^
Plate
N?3I N932
N?33
N?34
F>I^T4^X-^^-i-^-h
N?35
f^^^>^>KFpJ^*^f^^1^
ty//::^/-#/-f i*-^^
N?37
^'/f ')^c?/?^vx>bl*>^l^v^|«l/////////
N?38 N939
^^/-+ ^ /- F 1(l ^
N94-0
7-^^^^
Plate 7
N94-I N?42
4:i:X
N945
>KV4=(-
^^V^ h
NV46
N947 N?50
l^r^s^f^^f /i/:jc
%'/S H t )|C
Vt
^|y N?52
N948 N?49
TT \~ 9 mil III/' t '
Plate. 8
N?53
I )^C^% ^ J. /
N954
N955
/ -f \^ \y i^ V ^ il^
N?56
N?57
flJ/^+^ ^5^>fe/\i
N?58
/^yx/:^^
N?59
N?eo
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^ X'J-hC
N?62-
/\
^^ ^
INSCRIPTIONS IN
THE CYPRIOTE CHARACTER.
{From the TtrnpL' at Golgoi token njt otherwise sfaUd,)
1. On limestone with bas-relief. Published by Prof. Isaac
H. Hall, Journal of American Oriental Society, vol. x.,
pi. iv., 13 ; Moriz Schmidt, Sammlung kyprischer
Inschriften, pi. xi., 2. Ht. i ft. i in. X i ft. 4 in. X i J in.
2. On limestone with bas-relief. Hall, ibid., pi. i., i ;
Schmidt, ibid. pi. xi., 3. Ht. i ft. 2 in. X i ft. X 2 in.
3. On limestone base of statuette with feet attached, found
at Palaeo-Paphos. Schmidt, pi. xvii., i. Ht. 7 in. X
6 in. X 4I in.
4. On fragment of bas-relief with three male figures. Hall,
pi. v., 21 ; Schmidt, pi. xiii., i. Ht. 7 in. X 4 in. X i in.
5. On fragment of limestone pedestal. Schmidt, pi. xviii., i.
Ht. 6 in. X 10 in. X 4 in.
6. On votive tablet with bas-relief. Hall, pi. ii., 9 ; Schmidt,
pi. xi., 4. Ht. 7^^ in. x iij in. x i in. •
7. On votive tablet of limestone. Hall, pi. vii., 29 ; Schmidt,
pi. X., 4.
8. On limestone bas-relief. Hall, pi. vi., 23 ; Schmidt,
pi. xii., I. Ht. 3 in. X 6 in. x ij in.
9. On the headdress of a limestone head. Hall, pi. v., 20;
Schmidt, pi. xiii., 4. Ht. 4 in. X 2^ in.
10. On fragment of base of a large limestone statue. Schmidt,
pi. xviii., 2. Ht. 4 in. X 7 in. x 4 in.
11. On fragment of limestone vase. Schmidt, pi. xix., 2.
Ht. i in. X 2 J in.
438 APPENDIX.
12. On fragment of pedestal. Schmidt, pi. xviii., 3, Ht. 6 in.
XI ft.
13. On fragment of large limestone vase with relief of serpent
and dolphin (engraved p. 144). Hall, pi. iii,, 11;
Schmidt, pi. xiv., i. Ht. i ft. i J in. x 10 in. X 3J in.
14. On rim of small limestone pedestal. Hall, pi. iii., 12.
Schmidt, pi. xiii., 2. Ht. 4^ in. x 3f in. X 3 in.
15. On pedestal of limestone statue. Schmidt, pi. xvi., i;
Ht. 9 J in. X II in. X 10 in.
16. On piece of limestone. Hall, pi. i ; Schmidt, pi. xv., i.
Ht. 8 in. X I ft. 10 in.
17. On circular alabaster box. Schmidt, pi. xix., i. Ht.
I J in. xdia. ij in.
18. On limestone votive object in shape of human ear. Hall,
pi. ii., 6 ; Schmidt, pi. xii., 2. Ht. 2 in. X li in.
19. On foot of stone vase (?) Diam. 6f in. X i in.
20. On limestone handle of patera (?) terminating in ram's
head. Hall, pi. iv., 18 ; Schmidt, pi. xii., 3. Length
8J in.
21. On tablet representing religious ceremony. Hall, pi. vi.,
26 ; Schmidt, pi. xi., i. Ht. i ft. X i ft. 7 X J in,
22. On oblong alabaster box or small pedestal. Ht. i^ in. x
2} in. X I in.
23. On fragment of pedestal. Schmidt, pi. xix., 5. Length 7 in.
24. On fragment of oblong votive tablet. Schmidt, pi. xix., 7.
Ht. 4J in. X 7 X f in.
25. On fragment of limestone pedestal. Schmidt, pi. xx., 5.
Ht. 8 in X 5 in. X 2 in.
26. On fragment of limestone bas-relief. Schmidt, pi. xix., 6.
Ht. 8 in. X 4 in. x i^ in.
27. On fragment of pedestal. Schmidt, pi. xx., i. Ht. 6 in.
X 4 X 2]^ in.
28. On fragment of limestone bas-relief. Schmidt, pi. xix., 8.
Ht. 3 in X 4 in. x i^.
29. On fragment of limestone pedestal. Ht. 3J in. x 7 in. x
4 in.
30. On fragment of bas-relief. Schmidt, pi. xx., 2. Ht. 5 in.
X 7 in. x 2 in.
31. On base of colossal statue. Ht. i ft. 4 in. x i ft. 7 in. x
7 in.
32. On limestone pedestal of statue. Schmidt, pi. xv., 2. Ht.
I ft. 2^ in. X II in. x 11^ in.
CYPRIOTE INSCRIPTIONS. 439
33. On terra-cotta tile, found at Curium. Ht. i ft- 5 in. x
9^ in.
34. On small pedestal with bas-relief. Schmidt, pi. xvii., 2.
35. On fragment of limestone vase found at Pyla. Hall, pi. i.,
2 ; Schmidt, pi. xvi., i.
36. On oblong piece of limestone.
37. This inscription is to be read as one line. It occurs
on the horizontal moulding of a pediment containing
bas-relief of two female figures with their hands raised
to their heads, standing between two figures of lions,
and two male figures with two smaller lions. Schmidt,
pi. xxi., I.
38. On an oval piece of terra-cotta. Hall, pi. vi., 25 ; Schmidt,
pi. xiii., 3. Diam. ij in.
39. On limestone votive object in shape of human ear. Ht.
2 in. X I J in.
40. On fragment of limestone pedestal. Schmidt, pi. xvii., 4.
Length 7 in.
41. On fragment of statuette. Hall, pi. vi., 28 ; Schmidt, pi.
xvi., 3. Ht. 9 in. X 4 in.
42. On base of limestone statuette, found in ruins of Temple
of Apollo Hylates, near Curium. Hall, pi. viii., 37 ;
Schmidt, pi. xxi., 5. Ht. i ft. 2 in.
43. On limestone statuette, from ruins of Temple of Apollo
Hylates, near Curium. Hall, pi. viii., 33; Schmidt,
pi. xxi., 4.
44. On fragment of terra-cotta vase, from ruins of temple at
Cythrea. Ht. 3 in. x 5 in.
45. On fragment of terra-cotta vase, from ruins of temple at
Cythrea. Ht. 4 in. x 6 in.
46. On limestone box from ruins of temple at Cythrea.
Ht. 6^^ in. X 3 in. X 4 in.
47. On limestone box from ruins of temple at Cythrea.
Ht. 3 in. X 2 in. x 4J in.
48. On fragment of limestone box, blackened by fire, from
temple at Cythrea. Ht. 3! in. X 2J in. x ^ in.
49. On fragment of limestone, blackened by fire, from temple
at Cythrea. Ht. 2 in. x 1^ in. X J in.
50. On fragment of limestone box, coloured red, from temple
at Cythrea. Ht. 4J in. X 2 in. X J in.
51. On fragment of limestone, from ruins of temple at Cythrea.
Ht. 3 in. X 2 X i in.
440 APPENDIX.
52. On fragment of limestone, from ruins of temple at Cj-threa.
Ht. 2i in. X I in. X i- in,
53. On fragment of limestone, blackened by fire, from ruins of
temple at Cythrea. Ht. 4 in x 2 in. x J in,
54. On fragment of limestone, found at Cythrea. Ht. 2 in.
X I in. X J in.
55. Incised on carnetian intaglio, with bearded bead full face,
found at Curium,
56. On terra-cbtta lamp, with figure of Phcenician deity, found
in atomb at Carpass. Hall, pi. iv., 17; Schmidt, pi. xxt.,
3, Ht. II in. X 3i in.
57. Deeply cut on fragment of limestone, found in ruins of
temple at Cythrea.
58. Deeply cut on piece of limestone, in ruins of the temple at
Curium, which had the treasure chambers.
59. Deeply cut in piece of limestone, found with last.
60. On piece of limestone found at Amathus. Ht. 7 in. x 5 in.
X 3 in.
61. On fragment of limestone, Ht. 6 in, x 2 in.
62. On fragment of bas-relief, representing a female figure and
a child. Ht. 11 in. x 3} in. x | in.
PLATE XLVMI.
:VPRIOTE INSCREPTIWNS.
W'M
Oi
N? I
m
Pla te 3
ih'-^
I
N92
n I 7
h 9 i^? .9 : -
N93
H ") rn L mm ///
N?4-
9
N95
^
N? 7
y^' ^Cl
17^^
o
N? 6
^ ///fOo i^
N?8
/<:?^V
Plate tO
N9 9
^
'f'^i?
N? 10
<^1S^'«V//"'7A-
//.
y/
N? II
H'l^'r
N?I2
Tfiuf y/ '-Z
7^
N9 13
N? 14
4
^
N9 15
N?I6
Plate //
7
N9I7
^ y / v^
N? 18
■^7?
N9I9
N920
9 ^ m ^-/^
r4
N?2I
/7\
M
^
J
N922
N923
9
^^^
vl/
-Xtc/
Pla te ^Z
N?25
N?26
( ■) \^T\iMLflj
f{^^
N? 27
E
N?28
N9 29
YAd
I
h^'ih
N?30
INSCRIPTIONS IN
THE PHOiNICIAN CHARACTER.
{From the ruins of a temple at Citium when not otherwise stated.)
1. Incised on fragment of rim of marble vase. 6J in. X3J in.
2. Incised on fragment of block of white marble. 9 in. X 5 in.
3. Incised on fragment of marble patera. 4 in. X 2^ in,
4. Incised on fragment of marble block. 3 in. X 3 in.
5. Incised on fragment of rim of marble vase. 3 in.
6. Incised on fragment of marble. 4^ in.
7. On a terra-cotta vase, painted in black letters. Ht. 2 ft. 6 in.
Found in a tonib at Citium.
8. On terra-cotta vase, painted in black letters. From tomb
at Palaeo-Paphos. Ht. i ft. 2J in.
9. On terra-cotta vase. From tomb at Idalium, engraved
p. 68. Ht. I ft. I in.
10. Incised on fragment of rim of marble vase. Length 6 in.
11. Incised on fragment of rim of marble vase. Length 5 in.
12. Incised on fragment of rim of marble vase. Length 3^ in.
13. Incised on fragment of white marble. Length 2 J in.
14. On fragment of rim of marble patera. Length 6^ in,
15. On fragment of rim of marble bowl. Length 3 in.
16. On fragment of rim of marble vase. Length 2 in.
17. On fragment of rim of marble vase. Length ij in.
18. On handle of marble vase (fragment). Length i\ in.
19. Incised on fragment of rim of marble vase. Length 3 in.
20. Incised on fragment of rim of marble vase. Length 2^ in.
21. Incised on fragment of rim of marble vase. Length 2 in.
22. On fragment of white marble. Length il in.
442 APPENDIX.
23. On fragment of marble vase. Length 4^ in.
24. On a terra-cotta vase, painted in black letters. From tomb
at AiQathus.
25. Incised on alabaster vase. From tomb at Citimn. Ht.
iij in.
26. Incised on red teiTa-cotta vase. From tomb at Citium.
Ht. 6J in.
27. Incised on foot of serpentine vase, purchased in bazaar at
Nicosia. Engraved p. 248.
28. On terra-cotta vase. From tomb at Citium.
29. On terra-cotta vase. From tomb at Citium.
30. Incised on marble fragment.
INDEX.
Aali Pasha
Aali Pasha, Grand Vizier
Aborigines of Cjrprus .
Acama<:, Cape, ruins near
Acheropiti, convent of .
"Acs Cyprium," copper ,
iGthiopians in Cyprus .
Agamemnon in Cyprus .
Agapenor, Arcadian colonist
Agate sceptre .
Aghios Dimitri, ruins at
— Ermojini, village of
— Heradidion, village of
— Jorgos, church of .
— Nicholas, convent of .
— Pantelemoni .
— Paraskeva, antiquities at
— Photios, excavations at
— Tychona, legend of the church
— Tychona, village of
Alabaster, vases in . •
— vases, Amathus
Alambra, bronzes found at .
Amathus, history of
— fine sarcophagus found at
— mode of construction .
— ruins of .
— tombs at . .
— tools used in excavating.
Amethyst, ring set with
Amphora stamped with head of
Helios
— with birds and trees
Andreas, Cape St. .
Animals, vases in form of
Aphrodisium, site of
Aphrodite, worship of .
Apollo Hyhites, Temple of
Apellon, village of
FAGS
170
17
226
234
7
3
251
219
309
28s
296
282
225
347
232
246
116
291
281
54
27s
84
249
264
256
252
25s
310
21S
347
203
98
239
8
343
343
Bragadino
Aqueduct of Sta Napa . •
— of Curium . . ,
Arabs take Cyprus .
ArtMerxes Ochus . . ,
Artists, Cypriote
Asbestos, where found .
Askerich, tax for exemption from
military service
Asps, abounding at Curium •
Asses, fine breed of •
Assyrian influence on Lycian art
— painted vases . .
— remains found ,
— style, statues in the .
Astarte, Urania . . •
— figure of, Amathus .
Athieuo (Golgoi), site.of .
Athenians invade Cyprus •
Aziz Pasha, Governor-general •
FACB
187
342
30
25
II
217
186
341
178
268
247
246
130
19
275
105
24
186
Babylonian cylinders in glazed clay 28 1
Banquet, bas-relief of . . 107, 149
Barnabas, St, church of
" Bath of Aphrodite " .
Besbes, dragoman .
Boar hunt .
Bocanis, ruins on the
Bone-caves .
Bones, accumulations of,
Bom Kinr^os
Boy, marble statue of .
Boys wearing amulets
Bracelets of King Eteandros .
— set with large sardonyx • .
— with Hon heads .
Bragadino, his heroic defence of
Famagosta. . . .
-» cruel death of . . * .
202
218
173
107
214
. , 183
Amathus 281
8
346
347
306
312
3"
38
40
444
INDEX.
Bricks fagb
Bricks, sun-dried, used in Cyprus . 139
Bronze bowl, with dancers . . 75
— arms, great deposit of . . 97
— articles, Curium . . . 338
— articles, Dali . . • • 75
— great mass of articles . . 274
— statuette . . . 345
Buffavento, castle of . . . 238
Caimakam of Larnaca, his inter-
ference .... 56
— his punishment , • . 59
Callinicus, L. Vitellius . . . 253
Calocerus, revolt of . • • • 30
Camels' bones in tombs • . 282
Candelabra, bronze . . • • 337
Capitals, ancient, how utilized • 231
Carlotta I.usignan . . • • 33
— bequeaths Cyprus to Charles,
Duke of Savoy . . 36
Carob trees, immense . • . 231
•* Castello delle cento camere " . 240
Catalima, ruins at . . . . l8l
Catharine Cornaro, married to James
II., Lusignan ... 34
— resigns the kingdom to
Venice . . . . 36
Cats, snake-killing . . . 348
Cave of Venus 218
Cave of the Forty Saints . .183
Cemetery of Curium . . 294, 296
— of Idalium .... 82
— of Neo-Paphos . , , 223
— of Soli .... 229
Cerynia, affray with the natives at . 235
— bishop of, his hospitality . 232
— history of . . . . 234
Cesnola, Gen. di, arrives at Larnaca 41
— concludes his operations in
Cyprus . . . . 348
— his country house at Dali . 62
— his summer residence de-
scribed . . . . 179
— ' obtains a firman for excava*
tions .... 65
— offered command of Greek
cavalry .... 170
— scene at his landing . . 43
Chapel made of a Phoenician tomb 49
Chariots in terra-cotta . . '91
Cheeses of Acatu . . . . 238
Cinyradae, statues of , . -13
Cinyrada: (Larnaca), history of . 48
Cypriote
PACK
Cinyrassendsarmourto Agamemnon 4
— history of.
20
Cippi, sepulchral, Larnaca
' 54
Citium founded
3
— Assyrian sculpture found at 47
— (Larnaca), history of .
. 46
Clarius, river .
6
Cleaning sculptures, mode of.
. 142
Climate of Cyprus .
. 7. 62
Coffin of terra-cotta
190
Coins, found at Neo-Paphos . .
. 223
Colonna-Ceccaldi, Mr. .
76
Colossal head, Golgoi
. 123
— Assyrian statue, Golgoi
. 143
Conscription in Cyprus
. 186
Constantinople, museum at .
. 172
Cook's excursionists, invasions of
. 170
Copper-mining first introduced .
. 219
— articles, where abundant
277
— mines, traces of .
. 282
Costume of priests . • . ,
. 180
Crawford, Gen. S. W. .
. 224
Cresonerki, village of . . ,
225
Cretan rebellion, the
. 165
Crusader's tomb, Acheropiti . ,
. 234
Cmsaders, tombs opened by .
269
Crystal unguentarium. Curium . ,
► 325
Cuneiform alphabet of Cyprus
iS
— when and by whom read ii.
— table of characters •
16, 17
Curium, temple discovered .
. 301
— history of . . . ,
. 298
— rock-cut fortifications of
. 294
— site described . ,
. 299
— tombs . . . • ,
295
— treasure vaults opened
302
— view of .
293
Cybele, head of , . . ,
191
— statue of, at Soli
> 229
Cylinders in serpentine . . .
305
Cyprus, Henna plant .
7
— ancient names for . .
3
— Chittim of the Jews .
2
— comi^ared in shape to s
deer's skin . . ,
5
— name derived .
3
— regal government of • ,
9
— S. £. coast explored
177
— whence colonised
. /i.
"CyprUn Iliad," the . . .
13
Cypriote alphabet first made out ,
"5
— art, its character
281
— inscriptions found . .
149
INDEX.
445
Cypriote
Cjrpriote language •
Cythrea, ruins of . . .
Demeter Paralia, temple of
— — statuette of
Demetrius Poliorcetes invades Cy
pnis ....
Depopulation of Cyprus, causes of
Destructive mania of natives .
" Diamond of Paphos".
Dish, placed under hand of corpse
Drepano, tombs at .
rAGS
242
so
27
193
254
217
298
225
Earrings found at Curium . .310
— with pendant shrine . . 297
Echo, remarkable, at Papbos . 212
Egyptian remains, Poli . . 226
-^ amulets, Amathus . . 274
— conquest of Cyprus . . 18
— statues, Golgoi . • . 145
— style, statues in the . • 131
Embargo on sculptures, clever
evasion of . . . . 175
Embroidery, Cypriote . .12
Esar-haddon receives tribute from
Soli 227
— Cypriote kings tributaries to 307
Eteandros, king of Paphos, bracelets
of 306
Evagoras defeats the Persians . . 24
— king of Salamis . . . 200
Evil eye, how averted . . . 271
Execution, Turkish mode of . . 248
Exportation of antiquities forbid-
den 171
Famagosta taken by the Genoese 33
— built with the materials of
Salamis . . . . 194
— description of ... ib.
— siege of . . . .38
— the ancient Ammochostos . 192
Feet, votive, Paphos • , . 207
Fire-raising on mountain . . 286
Flute-player, terra-cotta . . . 344
** Forty Saints," Cave of the . 183
Footstools in stone, with bas-reliefs
of Chimaera, and Lion killing
Bull, Golgoi . . . .159
Fortresses dismantled by the Ve-
netians 238
Friederichs, Dr 212
Funeral procession, on a tomb . . 263
Ialussa
Gatto, Cape, origin of name
Gems, engraved {see Appendix)
Genab Effendi
George, St., popular in Cyprus
** Gergithios," the .
Geryon, Hercules driving off the
cattle of, bas-reliefs .
— statue of, Golgoi .
Glass ware, Dali ...
Gold ornaments. Curium .
— Egyptian patera in
— ornaments, Dali
— rings found, Amathus .
— — — Curium
— staters, great find of .
Golgoi, temple of, how destroyed
— Aphrodite found at
— cemetery of
— history of . . .
— •. method followed in exca
vating .
— sarcophagus found at ,
— temple discovered
— temple of, described
Governor-General of Cyprus, dis
pute with .
— makes satisfaction
Greek colonies in Cyprus . •
— sculptures, Golgoi
•'Great Council" of Cyprus
Green-glazed terra-cotta
Hadji Jorghi, story of .
Hall, Prof. Isaac H. .
Hegesias, Cypriote poet .
Helena Paixologus
Helena, St., builds church on Santa
Croce ....
Hellenic subjects expelled Cyprus
Helopolis used at siege of Salamis
Heraclius, gold of, common in
Cyprus ....
Hercules, colossal statue of
— Tyrian, of Amathus .
— terra-cotta figure of
Hierarchy, Cypiiote
Hilarion, St., village of .
Hippodrome of Curium
Hitchcock, Mr. Hiram
Human sacrifices . . .
Ialussa, early ruins at
rAGB
348
57
346
14
136
156
71
312
316
73
278
297
56
163
ib,
102
106
140
107
1x6
139
58
59
21
152
146
Id
83
224
13
6
166
201
209
133
250
ib,
10
238
338
196
250
203
446
INDEX.
Iconoclasts
Iconoclasts, work of ...
Idalium (Dali), site of .
— explored by Count de Vogu^
— tombs, arrangement of • .
Immense blocks of stone
Intagli discovered at Curium {s<i
Appendix)
Iridescent gloss . • t
Ivory, bas-relief In . • •
Jews in Cyprus, revolt of the
Johnson, Aug. J., American Consul
General at Beirut •
Kantara, fortress of •
Kara Ahmet, an incendiary •
Kattirdji Janni, the bandit, story
of • • • • •
Kingdoms of Cyprus, the ten .
Koloni, village of . • •
Kouklia, the site of Paphos
Ktima, fanatical Turks of •
— taught better manners •
Kufi, Asp • • • •
Lamp in form of temple •
Lamps of terra-cotta, Dali
— of Roman date
Lang, Mr., British Consul forCyprus
— excavates at Dali
-^ quoted . •
LapaYs, the abbey .
Lapethus, river #
— site of
•* Larnaca of Lapethus "
Lamaca, appearance of.
— "Marina" of
— name derived •
— the last view of
Latin churches destroyed al the
Turkish conquest •
Lefca, beautiful vegetation around
Leo-Petro, poultry-breedera at .
Lepers, account of • •
LeucoUa, site of • • •
— cemetery of
Leucosia, now Nicosia
Limassol, siege of. . «
— Governor of, his visit •
*• Lino-bambaki " Christians .
Lusignan dynasty .
Lustral vase in stone, Golgoi
Luynes, Due de, bronie tablet of
PACK
345
63
64
67
256
254
233
30
58
240
286
196
22
217
204
220
221
238
157
71
£>.
81
82
18
237
6
233
232
42
45
350
237
231
185
244
191
192
244
38
289
i8s
32
"44
97
Paphos
Marble sarcophagus, Amathus.
"Masons' Marks" on mediaeval
ashlar • . • •
Mehemet Bey of Ktima.
Mehemet Kaiseriy Pasha conveyi
two cases of antiquities •
Melicertes, figures of .
Meiallurgy in Cyprus . •
Midnight scene at Golgoi
Monolith, perforated, still held
sacred ....
Monoliths of granite, Paphos .
Moro, Cristoforo, "Othello"
Morris, Hon. E. J., American
minister at Constantinople .
Mosaic pavement, Paphos •
— — Curium •
Mountains of Cyprus •
Mulasha, ruins at • • .
Muleteers of Cyprus
Mustafa, consular cavass .
•* Mysteries of Venus," explanation
of, demanded • •
Napa, Sta, convent of
Napoleon III. intends securing the
Golgoi statues
Necklace with Gorgon, Curium
Neo- Paphos, site of . .
Nicocles, king of Paphos
Nicosia, antiquities of
— a Turkish convict prison
Nocturnal intruder, a .
(ENOCHOfi, painted, Amathus .
— painted with horseman
archaic . • • .
Olympus, Mount . • •
^- now Troodes .
Onesilos, where slain
— of Salamis .
Ormidia, cem tery near .
Osman Aga, his buried treasure
Ossuaries, formed from relics
battles ....
Oven-shaped tombs •
Ox'head, borne as symbol
of
66,
PACB
270
182
222
172
264
10
122
189
214
195
65
212
301
5
238
105
»77
171
187
170
317
219
26
246
247
287
273
334
S
215
192
23
181
208
281
232
161
, Painted vases, found at great
I depths 210
Palma Count Alerino . . .169
Paphos, history of . ... 204
INDEX.
447
PaPHOS pagb
Paphos, measnrements of Temple • 210
— palace of . • . • 206
— ruins of temple • • . 210
— son of Venus ... 20
— temple, view of . • . 205
Patseci, figures of . . • . 264
Patera, gold Egyptian . • . 316
— in the E^ptian style . 330
— silver, with Phoenician reliefs 329
— silver, with Phoenician reliefs,
Amathus . . . . 279
— with antelopes and papyri 337
Paul, St., where fledged . . 223
— visits Paphos . . . . 29
Paulus, Sergius, at Soli . . 229
Pedestals, inscribed, Paphos . . 213
Pegasus and Chrysaor . . .112
Peplos, dedicated to Athena
Alea 219
Perforated stones at Paphos . .211
Peigamos, ruins of • . . . 239
Perseus and Gorgon, bas-relief on
sarcophagus . . • • 113
Persians take Cyprus • • . 23
" Phaneromene,'' the, of Lamaca . 49
Phoenician cities in Cyprus • • 21
— Greek inscription , . , 233
— inscriptions on vase . • 68
— painted vases . • • 55
— patera. Curium . • . 329
— remains at Lamaca . . 49
— silver paterae, notices of . 330
— tombs. Curium • . . 297
— vases, Dali . • . • 68
Phoenicians in Cyprus ... 2
Pit-granaries (African "silos"), at
Curium .... 341
Pnytagciras made king of Citium by
Alexander • • . . 48
Poll, Egyptian remains at . . 226
Porcelain dishes used in Gothic wall-
decoration . . . 242
— Egyptian amulets in . . 274
Potamia palace, treasure trove at . 98
Potters' stamps . • . . 216
Pottery, Cypriote {see Appendix)
Priests of Cyprus, ancient and
modem 180
Ptolemy, last king of Cyprus . . 28
— > submits to M. Cato . . 29
— takes Cyprus . • . . 26
Quadrangular block, Golgoi . 135
Sophia
Revolts of Cypres . . . .
Richard of England takes Cyprus .
— — sells Cyprus to
the Templars
— — to Guy de Lusignan
Rifled tomb, scene in a .
Rings, gold, of uncertain use .
— votive, Curium (j^ Appendix
Roman tombs ....
Romans, the, take Cyprus .
Ruskin, Mr
''Russian" acts for "American
Consul ....
Said, Pasha, govemor-general
— his compliment
Salamis, battles of
— history of . , ,
— ruins of . . ,
— sculptures from • .
Samian vase, from Soli . •
Sandwith, Mr., mistake of
Sarcophagi broken by tomb-robbers 272
PACB
23
31
32
ib.
272
309
179
28
152
174
167
176
192
199
201
202
230
83
— cut out of living rock .
— Roman, Lapals
Sarcophagus found at Amathus
— mode of lifting , .
— Phoenician, Lamaca .
— Roman, Lamaca . .
— with legend of Perseus
Scarabs found ....
Sculpture in Cypres
Selim IL invades Cypres . •
Sepulchral stelae with lions, and
with sphinxes .
— with Ionic capitals, Golgoi
Sepulchre, family, sketch of .
Shield, with reliefs in bronze,
Amathus . . . 274,
Ships, in terra-cotta, Amathus . .
Sigismund, Dr. Justus, fate of
Signet-rings, found at Curium . .
— — — Golgoi
Signet, immense gold . . .
Silver ornaments, Curium
— bowl, Golgoi . , .
Simeon the hermit
Sites, ancient, how best discovered
Skulls collected, Dali . . .
— at Alambra
Skeleton tree
Soli, site and history of ^
Sophia, Sta, of Nicosia . . .
295
237
264
288
53
54
n3
305
II
37
112
"5
224
283
259
271
308
"7
310
327
"7
240
184
79
88
278
227
247
448
INDEX.
Sphinxes
Sphinxes over doorways
— on sarcophagus lid
"Splanchnoptes," the .
Stasinos, Cypriote poet
Statue of young Roman
Stolen antiquities, how recovered
Styppax, Cypriote sculptor
Sword sent to Alexander from
Citium ....
Templars, the, buy Cyprus .
Terra-cottas found at Larnaca
Terra-cotta heads, life size
— — from Soli
" Terra d'umbra*' found near Larnaca
Theocharis, chief digger .
Throni, Cape Pyla
— site of ancient
Tomb at Amathus, plan of .
Tombs at Dali
— constructed of huge blocks
— superimposed on Phoenician
interments
— the oldest in Cyprus •
Torch-bearer, terra-cotta figure
** Torre del Moro," Famagosta
Travelling in Cyprus . . 109,
Treasure- vaults. Curium, found.
— — ground plan of
Tremitus, now Tremitnsa
** Trimming the tomb " .
Tripod in bronze, Curium
Turkish population, decay of .
— system of correspondence
Turks take Cyprus
Tyrian religion brought into Cyprus
Unguentarium in crystal
V A ROSSI A founded by the expelled
natives of Famagosta
Vases, remarkable, Cypriote {see
Appendix)
Vase, with biga race . . .
^— painted with antelopes and
cranes ....
PACB
260
267
II
13
240
126
II
10
32
SO
242
230
218
271
181
183
260
66
256
72
203
250
195
'. 177
303
304
246
303
335
'93
147
39
19
32s
192
268
331
Zeus
PACE
Vases with early decoration . .
181
— terra-cotta, Alambra .
92
— with double spouts . .
9S
— with incised and coloured
decoration . . . .
93
— of terra-cotta, Dali
77
— of the Trojan kind , .
102
Venetian arms preserved at Fama-
gosta
195
Venice obtains Cyprus .
36
— loses it . , . . .
39
Venus Acraea, temple of
5
— Garden of . • . .
218
— statuette, Golgoi.
157
— terra-cotta figures of, Alam-
bra ....
88
— the Bearded, of Amathus .
132
— where she first appeared
213
— -worship, vestiges of . .
189
Veil, thin, of what an evidence
222
— of the Temple, Ephesus
12
Veiled female statue . . . .
285
Vespasian rebu ilds Temple of Paphos
205
Vogue, Count de, explores Golgoi
137
— — erroneous statement of
300
— — at Amathus
253
Vondiziano, M. Andrea . . .
116
Votive tablets, Golgoi .
158
Vultures, numerous . ...
227
Water-bottles in terra-cotta . 102
— -carrier, figure of . . 300
— -conveyance in Greece . . 342
Whorls in terra-cotta and serpentine 102
YusuF Aga
224
Xanthus, marble frieze from 261, 265
— doorway, represented . . 260
Zaptifh, Turkish policeman
— how utilized . . .
Zeno, supposed head of
— of Ciiium ,
Zeus Splanchnotomos of Salamis
I2t
123
153
14
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6 WORKS RELATING TO ART AND ANTIQUITIES
TEE SPEAKM'S COMMENTARY ON THE OLD
TESTAMENT. Explanatory and Critical, with a Revision
OF THE Translation. By BISHOPS and CLERGY of the
ANGLICAN CHURCH. Edited by F. C COOK, M.A., Canon of
Exeter, Preacher at Lincoln's Inn, and Chaplain in Ordinary to the
Queen.
Vou I.~GENESIS, EXODUS, LEVITICUS, NUMBERS,
DEUTERONOMY. 301.
Vols. IT. and IIL— JOSHUA, JUDGES. RUTH, SAMUEL, KINGS,
CHRONICLES, EZRA, NEHEMIAH, ESTHER. 36*.
Vol. IV.— job, PSALMS. PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES, SONG
OF SOLOMON. 24J.
Vol. v.— ISAIAH, JEREMIAH, LAMENTATIONS. 20x.
Vol. VL— EZEKIEL, DANIEL, THE MINOR PROPHETS. 25^.
Complete in 6 vols. Medium 8vo. 6/. 151.
TEE SPEAKERS COMMENTARY ON TEE NEW
TESTAMENT, Explanatory and Critical, with a Revision
of the Translation. By BISHOPS and CLERGY of the
ANGLICAN CHURCH. Edited by F. C COOK, M.A., Canon
of Exeter, Preacher at Lincoln's Inn, and Chaplain in Ordinary to
the Queen. 4 vols. Medium 8vo. [In tJu Press.
TEE NEW TESTAMENT. Edited, with a Plain Prac-
tical Commentary for Families and General Readers. By
archdeacon CHURTON, M.A., and the BISHOP OF ST.
DAVID'S. With 100 Panoramic and other Views, made on the
Spot by Rev. S. C. Malan, and James Graham. 2 vols. Crown
8vo. 2 1 J.
*' The special features of this edition are its notes and its illustrations. Its notes
are brief, but really to the purpose. They were intended to present every scriptural
lesson selected for daily reading so briefly annotated, as to leave the words of the
sacred text itself first and last in the reader's mind. The illustrations are of three
kinds : historical pictures, illustrating the great e\'ents of the text ; views, of sacred
places ; and panoramic views of scenes in the Holy Land, representing the places
and scenes as they are at the present day. We heartily oommend the work." —
CAurcJk Builder,
TEE CUSTOMS AND MANNERS OF BIBLE LANDS,
ILLUSTRATIVE OF SCRIPTURE. By HENRY VAN-
LENNEP, D.D. With Maps and 300 Illustrations. 2 vols. 8vo. 2ix.
" Dr. Van-Lennep has spent a life-time in the countries whose traditions,
customs, and modes of thought he has described, so that his materials have been
derived from personal observation and intercourse." — The Scoismam.
" The illustrations are excellent, and the whole book is an attractive. collection
of those facts which so much add to the intellectual appreciation of the Holy
Scriptures." — Guardian,
PUBLISHED BY JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 7
DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE; its Antiquities,
Biography, Geography, and Natural History. By various
Writers. Edited by WM. SMITH, D.C.L. and LL.D. With Illus-
trations. 3 vols. Medium 8vo. 5/. $s.
*' The object of this Work is to elucidate the Antiquities. Biography, Geography,
and Natural History of the Old Testament, New Testament, and Apocrypha ; and
not to explain systems of theology, or discuss points of controversisLi divinity.
It has seemed, however, necessary in a ' Dictionary of the Bible,' to give a full
account of the Book, bbth as a whole and m its separate parts. Accordingly, articles
are inserted not only upon. the general subject, such as ' Bible,' 'Apocrypha/ and
' Canon,' and upon the chief ancient versions, as ' Septuagint,' and ' ViUgate,' but
also upon each of the separate books."
DICTIONARY OF CSBISTIM ANTIQUITIES. Com-
prising the History, Institutions, and Antiquities of the
Christian Church. By Various Writers. EditedbyWM. SMITH,
D.C.L., and Rev. PROFESSOR CHEETHAM, M.A. (To be com-
pleted in 2 vols.) With Illustrations. Vol. I. Medium 8vo. 31J. 6d,
"This Work is intended to furnish {tcgetktr with the ' Dictionary of Christum
Biography, Literature, and Doctrines ' ) a complete account of the leading Person-
ages, the Institutions, Art, Social Life, Writings and Contro\'ersies of the Christian
Church from the time of the Apostles to the age of Chariemagne. It commences
at the period at which the ' Dictionary of the Bible ' leaves off, and forms a
continuation of it : it ceases at the age of Charlemagne, because (as Gibbon
lias remarked) the rdgn of this monarch forms the important link of ancient and
modem, of civil and ecclesiastical history. It thus stops short of what we
commonly call the Middle Ages.
DICTIONARY OF CHRISTIAN BIOGRAPHY, UTERA-
TURE^ SECTS, AND DOCTRINES. From the Time of the
Apostles to the Age of Charlemagne. By Various Writers.
Edited by Dr. WM. SMITH and Rev. PROFESSOR WACE.
(To be completed in 3 vols.) VoL I. Medium 8vo. 3IX. 6</.
"This Work is designed to give a comprehensive account of the Personal, the
LiCeniry, the Dogmatic, and the Ecclesiastical I Jfe of the Church during the first
eight centuries of Christianity, and in combination with the ' Dictionary of Christian
Antiquities,' it will afford, it is believed, the most complete collection of materiab
for the Church History of that period which has yet been published, either in
England or abroad. Among the writers are Professor IJghtfoot, Westoott,
Swainson, and Cowell of Cambridge, Professors Bright and Stubbs of Oxford, and
Professor Salmon of Dublin, while Foreign and American scholars have also
co-operated in the work.'*
AN ATLAS OF ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY, BIBUCAL
AND CLASSICAL, intended to Illustrate the above three Works.
Compiled under the Superintendence of DR. WM. SMITH and MR.
GEORGE GROVE. With Descriptive Text, giving the Sources and
Authorities, Indices, && With 45 Maps. Folio, half-bound. 6/. dr.
"The students of Dr. Wm. Smith's admirable Dictionaries must have felt
themselves again and again in want of an Atlas constructed on the same scale of
precise and minute information. This want has been supplied by the superb work
before us. The indices are full, the engraving exquisite, and the delineation of the
natural features very minute and beautiful It may safely be pronounced to be a
worthy companion of the series of volumes which it is intended to illustrate."— 7>l«
Guardian.
8 WORKS RELATING TO ART AND ANTIQUITIES
mCTCLOPJSDU OF CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY. Con-
taining Greek and Roman Antiquities, Biography, Mytho*
LOGY, AND Geography. By Various Writers. Edited by WM.
SMITH, D.CL. and LL.D. With Illustrations. 6 vols. Medium
8vo. 28j. each.
CONTAINING :
/. GREEK AND ROMAN ANTIQUITIES. Indading the Laws, Institu-
tions, Domestic Usages, Fainting, Sculpture, Music, the Drama, &c.
With 500 Illustrations. Medium 8to. 28x.
//. GREEK AND ROMAN BIOGRAPHY AND MYTHOLOGY. Con-
taining a History of the Ancient World, Civil, Uteraiy, and Ecde-
siasticaL With 560 Illustrations. 3 vols. Medium 8vo. 84J.
///. GREEK AND ROMAN GEOGRAPHY Including the Pi^tical History
of both Countries and Cities, as well as their Geography. 2 vols.
Medium 8vo. 56^.
" I have for some time been in the habit of using the Dictioniaiies of Antiquity
and Ancient Biography, as well as the Dictionary of Ancient Geography, and I
have no hesitation in saying, from my knowledge of them, that they are far
superior to any other publications of the same sort in our language. They are
works which every student of ancient literature ought to consult habitually, and
which are indispensable to e\'ery person engaged in original researches into any
department of antiquity." — Sir G, Comtwall Lewis,
THE FIVE GREAT MONARCHIES OF THE ANCIENT
EASTERN WORLD: or the History, Geography, and
Antiquities of Assyria, Babylonia, Chaldjea, Media, and
Persia. Collected and Illustrated from Ancient and Modem Sources.
By CANON RAWLINSON, M.A. With Maps and 600 lUustra-
tions. 3 vols. 8vo. 42^.
" Mr. Rawlinson has now completed his valuable work. He has placed within
the reach of English readers all that we as yet know of those great fobrics of
eastern power of which the nxunes are so familiar to us, and which uilected more
or less directly the history in which we are most interested. Mr. RawUnson has
taken the subject in hand fully and comprehensively, and with the advantage of
discoveries which are new since Niebuhr." — Saturday Rcvirw.
HISTORY OF HERODOTUS : A New English Version.
Edited with Notes and Appendices, illustrating the History and
Geography of Herodotus, from the most recent sources of informa-
tion, and embodying the chief restilts, historical and ethnographical,
which have been obtained in cuneiform and hieroglyphical discovery.
By GEORGE RAWLINSON, M.A., Canon of Canterbury. Assisted
by Sir Henry Rawlinson and Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson.
1 With Maps and 350 Woodcuts. 4 vols. 8vo. 48J.
I " Rawlinson's ' Herodotus ' is worthy to take rank with the works of Thirlwall
and Grote. The book is a great book, and will henceforth rank among standard
authorities in all matters of ancient ethnology, and in all historical and geographical
subjects which come within the wide range of the greatest and most inquisitive of
all ancient travellers." — Cnardiau,
PUDLISHED BY JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 9
HISTORICAL MEMORIALS OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY.
Foundation of the Abbey — The Coronations — The Royal Tombs — The
Monuments — The Abbey before the Reformation— The Abbey since the
Reformation — Account of the Search for the Burial Place of James I.
By DEAN STANLEY. 4th Edition. With 40 Illustrations., 8vo. 15 J.
EISTOBJGAL MEMOBULS OF CANTERBURY. The
Landing of Augustine. — The Murder of Becket — Edward the Black
Prince.— Becket's Shrine. By DEAN STANLEY. 6th Edition.
With Illustrations. Post 8vo. 7s, 6d,
NINEVEH AND ITS REMAINS; an Account of Re-
SEARCHES AND DISCOVERIES MADE DURING AN EXPEDITION TO
Assyria in 1845-7. By the RIGHT HON A. H. LAYARD, D.C.L.
With Illustrations. Post 8vo. 7s, 6i/.
" This edition has been carefully revised. Subsequent discoveries amongst the
ruins of Nineveh, and the progress made in the interpretation of the cuneiform
inscriptions, have enabled the author to add to the text, and have led him to
modify some of the views which were expressed in his original work. For the
convenience of his readers he has added to the account of his visit to the Yezidis,
or Devil-worshippers, the narrative of subsequent visits to that curious sect." —
Pre/iue.
NINEVEH AND BABYLON; A Narrative of Dis-
coveries MADE DURING A SECOND EXPEDITION TO ASSYRIA,
1849-51; WITH Travels in Armenia, Kurdistan, and the
Desert. By the RIGHT HON. A. H. LAYARD, D.C.L. With
Illustrations. Post 8vo. 7s, 6ti.
" In this volume I have described in the introduction the principal discoveries on
the site of Nineveh made after my return to England in the Spring of 1851.
Further researches among the ruins after my departure from Assyria, and the
contents of the cuneiform inscriptions as deciphered by English and French
scholars, have added to our knowledge of the history, (he language, and the arts
^ of the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians, but they have not led me to modify, to
any material extent, the views put forward in my original work. I have noticed in
the following pages the most important results of the interpretation of the Assyrian
inscriptions." — Preface,
THE CITIES AND CEMETERIES OF ETRUBJA. By
GEORGE DENNIS. A New Edition revised, recording all the
Recent Discoveries. With 20 Plans and naore than 150 Illustrations.
2 vols. Medium 8vo. 42^.
"Mr. Dennis has brought to his task no ordinary qualifications. His scholar-
ship, at once accurate and extensive, is enlightened by a sound and rational spirit
of criticism, and the natural enthusiasm with which he regards the sttbject of his
long-continued researches is rarely permitted to mislead the calmness of his
judgment. " — Edinburgh Review.
lo WORKS RELATING TO ART AND ANTIQUITIES
TROT AND ITS REMAINS. A Narrative of Dis-
coVeries and Researches made on the Site of Ilium and
IN THE Trojan Plain. By DR. HENRY SCHLIEMANN,
With Maps, and 500 Illustrations. Royal 8vo. 42s,
" What Botta and Layard did for Khorsabad and Nineveh. Dr. Schliemann has
done for the cities which rose in succession on the mound of Hissarlik. He has
proved that many centuries before the dawn of history there stood near the banks
of Scamander, on a site regarded as that of Troy by nearly all the ancients, a city
corresponding, except in size, to the descriptions of the Greek p-^tst. If Troy b to
be sought anywhere save ' among the Muses who dwell on Olympus,' it shall be
sought • in the trenches of Hissarlik.' We congratulate Dr. SchWcmaxkn." —Speciafor.
ANCIENT MYCEN^; Discoveries and Researches on
THE Sites or MvcENiE and Tiryns. By DR. SCHLIEMANN,
Author of "Troy and its Remains." With Preface by the Right
Hon. W. E. GLADSTONE, M.P. With 20 Plans and 550 lUus-
trations. Medium 8vo. 50;.
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. Their Manners, Cus-
toms, Private Life, Government, Laws, Arts, Manufactures,
Religion, Agriculture, and Early History. Derived from
a comparison of the Paintings, Sculptures, and Monuments still
existing, with the accounts of Ancient Authors. By SIR J. GARD-
NER WILKINSON, F.R.S. A New Edition, With Additions by
the late Author. Edited and brought down to the present state of
knowledge by SAMUEL BIRCH, LL.D. With many new Illustra-
tions. 3 vols. Medium 8vo. ' [Nearly Reeufy*
HISTORY OF mTPT FROM TEE EARUFST PERIOD.
Derived from Monuments and Inscriptions. By DR. BRUGSCH.
Translated by the late H. DANBY SEYMOUR. With Maps.
2 vols. 8vo. [/« /Ae Press.
A POPULAR ACCOUNT OF TEE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.
Revised and Abridged from his Larger Work. By SIR J. G. WIL-
KINSON. With 500 Woodcuts. 2 vols. Post 8vo. 12s.
"Sir Gardner Wilkinson has done more to make the people of the Pharaoh^
known to us moderfts than any contemporary writer."
AN ACCOUNT OF THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF
THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. By EDWARD WM. LANE.
Fifth Edition. Edited by E. STANLEY POOLE. With Wood-,
cuts. 2 vols. Post 8vo. 1 2 J.
CYPRUS; ITS ANCIENT CITIES, TOMBS, AND
TEMPLES, A Narrative of Researches and Excavations
DURING Ten Years* Residence in that Island. By LOUIS P.
DI CESNOLA. With Maps and 200 Illustrations. Medium 8vo.
50^.
PUBLISHED BY JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, ii
NOTES ON TEE CSUBCHES OF KENT. By the late
SIR STEPHEN GLYNNE, Bart With lUustrationS. 8vo.
HISTORY OF TEE UNITED NETEEUANDS; from
the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Years'
Truce, 1609; with a full view of the English-Dutch
Struggle against Spain ; and of the Origin and Destruc-
tion of the Spanish Armada. By J. L. MOTLEY. With
Portraits. 4 vols. Post 8vo. 24s.
" Among the historians of the age Mr. Motley occupies a distingdished and
permanent position. Extensive and minute research, unwearied diligence, moral
artistic sympathy, vigorous presentment and picturesque language, give such a
value and interest to his historical elaborations, as we recognise only in the works
of the most eminent writers of national \Aognphy."-^S/eefator.
TEE mSTORIGAL WORKS OF H. H. MILMAN, D.D.,
late Dean of St. Paul's,
containing the •
HISTORY OF. THE JEWS, from the Earliest Period down to Modern
Times. 3 vols.
HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY, from the Birth of Christ to the
Abolition of Paganism in the Roman Empire. 3 vols.
HISTORY OF LATIN CHRISTIANITY; including that of ihc Popes to
the Poutificate of Nicholas V. 9 vols.
15 vols. Post 8vo. 6s, each.
TRAVELS OF MARCO POLO, TEE VENETIAN. Con-
cerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East. A New
English Version. Illustrated by the Light of Orieiital Writers and
Modem Travels. By COL. HENRY YULE, CB. Second Edition.
With 19 Maps and Plans, and 130 Illustrations. 2 vols. Medium
8vo. 63J.
" Since the completion of the first edition four years ago, large additions have
been made to the stock of our knowledge bearing on the subject of this book, and
how these additions have continued to come up to the Lost moment may be seen in
Appendix I>., which has had to undergo repeated interpolations after being put
into type. Having always attached great importance to the matter of illustrations.
I feel greatly indebted to my publisher in enabling me laigely to increase their
number in this edA\\oxi"— Preface.
ASIA MINOR. A Narrative of Travels, Antiquarian
Researches and Discoveries. With Illustrations of Biblical
Literature and Archaeology. By HENRY VAN-LENNEP, D.D.
With Map and Illustrations. 2 vols. Post 8vo. 241.
" Dr. Van-I^nnep has written an interesting book resp^ing regions which, in
the present day of geographical inquiry, do not receive the attention they deserve
at the hands cither of travellers or antiquaries. He confines his descriptions of
scenery and remarks upon the people entirely to what he himself saw ; and having
a great deal of matter to narrate, he has not been under the necessity, like several
modem travellers, of eking out the substance of his information by referring to
observations of other explorers, or by manufactured digressions of a scientific
character." — Record^
12 WORKS RELATING TO ART AND ANTIQUITIES.
ANNALS OF WINCHCOMBE AND SUDELET. By
EMMA DENT. With 1 20 Portraits, Plates, and Woodcuts. 4to. 42X.
" Few residences can boast a greater antiquity, or have witnessed more striking
changes than Sudeley Castle. A mansum, or nianor-house, before the Conquest,
a baronial castle in the time of Stephen, then alternately going to decay, or rising
into additional magnificence, with stately towers to overlook the vale — again sufler-
ing from neglect, and once more right royally restored and beautified to receive the
widowed Queen as Seymour's Bride, with all her lordly retinue." — Preface,
ABGHMLOGT, ART, AND TRAVEL: a Series of
Sketches and Studies, Historical and Descriptive, By
RICHARD J. KING, B.A. 8vo. 12s.
C0NTFNT8 : — Carolingun Romancb— Sacred Trees and Flo«'SRS— The Dogs of
Folk-lore, History and Romanck^'Thb Change op Faith in Iceland, a.d. tooo-^
The Great Shrines of England— Travelling in England— Devonshire— Rooert
Herrick and his Yicabage- Sketches and Studies fbom Belgium— A Pilgrimage
to St. David's.
THE CHAPEL IN THE TOWER; Notices of His-
toric Persons buried in the Chapel of St. Peter in the
Tower of London. With an Account of the Discovery of the
supposed Remains of Queen Anne Boleyn. By DOYNE C. BELL,
F.S.A. With Illustrations. 8vo. 14^.
ANCIENT SPANISH BALLADS, Historical and Ro-
mantic. Translated, with Notes, by J. G. LOCKHART. With
Portrait and Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 5^;
"The reader who is not already familiar with these. charming ballads should
make their acquaintance in the present form. They are full of that blended
romance of the East and of the West which forms the special attraction of old
Spanish history, literature, and legend. The champions of the Crescent and tlic
knights of the Cross do battle in these ringing stanzas ; and the superstitions of
Saracen and Christian mingle their varied hues in a hundred glancing lighis of
fancy." — Daily News,
LIVES OF THE ENGINEERS. From the Earliest
Times to the Death of the Stephensons, comprising a History
of the Steam Engine and Locomotive. By SAMUEL SMILES.
With Portraits and 340 Woodcuts. 5 vols. Crown 8vo. 7s, 6if, each.
CONTkNTS :
L VERMUYDEN, MYDDELTON, PERRY, BRINDLEY.
II. SMEATON AND RENNIE.
in. METCALFE AND TELFORD.
IV. BOULTON AND WATT.
V. GEORGE AND ROBERT STEPHENSON.
THE MOON. Considered as a Planet, a World, and
a Satellite. By JAMES NASMYTH, C.E., and JAMES
carpenter, F.R.A.S. With Illustrations and Woodcuts. 4to. jor.
"The illustrations to this book are so admirable, so far beyond those one
generally gets of any celestial phenomenon, that one is tempted to refer to them
first of all. No more truthful or striking representations have ever been laid before
his readers by any student of science. The more carefully the text is nad, the
more obvious does it become that Mr. Nasmyth has used bis drawings as a means
to an end, and that he and Mr. Carpenter between them bare produced a work
which is not only a very beautiful and very readable one^ but one of some
importance. "—Nature,
ARADOUR", AGNIW, & Ca, PKINTCRS. WHITBPRIAKS.